


5XG

by KiraDillinger



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pearlamethyst is mostly platonic, Prosthesis, Romance, Secret Identity, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 31,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21862990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraDillinger/pseuds/KiraDillinger
Summary: 5XG is an urban superhero, with a cool black suit and black bike, who saves lives everyday in the Empire City. Why would someone so cool ask Lapis, a common art student, for a date? Lapis is gonna find this out, since she's a big fan of this mysterious person.
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 166
Kudos: 314





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I decided to translate this work of mine in English, hope you like it!  
> A little about the world in this work: it's our world, no gems or other alliens, but the technologies are much more modern. That allows people to make better prosthesis and other cybernetic stuff. This is not so common yet, but some talented people manage to create something outstanding.

_5XG started a live video. Watch it before it ends!_

Lapis Lazuli nearly drops her phone at her lunch.

"...and then I... Lazuli, are you listening?"

"Nope. Shut up."

"Oh Gods. We lost her. I'll tell Professor Holly that you are not coming for her political science class."

Aquamarine props her cheek with her hand and looks with contempt at her friend, who froze with a fork near her mouth. On the screen of Lapis' phone there is someone in a black tight-fitting suit and with a black helmet that covers their face to the very neck. Aquamarine, on the one hand, is glad that she doesn't hear anything because of Lapis' headphones (and she won't kill herself with a facepalm), and on the other hand she is curious why her friend smiles so stupidly.

“If I knew that you were a fan of this wierdo, I would never talk to you at the admission ceremony,” Aquamarine grumbles, taking the fork from Lapis' hand and putting it back on the plate. "We are not children anymore to be fans of "superheroes"."

Fortunately for her, the broadcast ends quickly, and Lapis, typing something with the speed of light, reluctantly takes out her headphones and puts down the phone, returning to her lunch as if nothing had happened. Aquamarine slaps her forehead.

“Did you even hear me?”

Lapis innocently blinks.

“Of course not.”

“What the hell is so interesting about this guy? You haven’t even seen his face. And you're not interested in guys at all!”

Smiling dreamily, Lapis sighs in love, and from this sigh Aquamarine wants to puke rainbow.

“Rumors say that this person is a girl.”

“And your little gay heart is happy to know that? Honestly, Lazuli, you urgently need to find someone before you start drooling over your phone whenever this… person appears on the screen. I swear on rector Dewey's bald head, I will either get Jasper back for you or…”

Lapis shudders and winces, as if she had sent spoiled food into her mouth. What she definitely does not want is to return relationships, in which both partners got broken mental health and a couple of broken ribs.

“Please, no. We just stopped avoiding each other in school. Jasper is in the past.”

“Alright, alright. But, please, don’t look so lovingly at... I don’t care what his name is.”

“You wish.”

“Ugh.”

Aquamarine returns to her own phone, allowing Lapis to finish lunch in peace. Ten more minutes until the end of the break, and Aquamarine frantically tries to find a reason not to appear at Professor Holly's lecture. This old witch scares the entire university, and they say she still has this work just because Dewey simply doesn’t have balls to fire her.

She calmly scrolls the Instagram dashboard for several minutes, not paying attention to anything else, until she hears a loud and sudden “HOLY FUCK” from usually calm and chill Lapis. Loud enough to be heard in the whole cafeteria.

“Why are you yelling, you idiot?!” Aquamarine hisses, throwing angry glances at the students who turned to scream. Not every day their table attracts attention with something other than just blue hair.

“5XG... Asks me for a walk...” Lapis's voice trembles, she looks at the phone with puppy joy in her eyes.

“Wha-“

“This broadcast I watched. They offered to write any questions in direct, and opened a PM for a minute.”

Aquamarine wants to thrust a fork in the screen of the Lapis’ iPhone.

“And you immediately decided to try your luck? What did you manage to say so that your question was noticed? He surely has a bunch of fans like you.”

Lapis just gives her the phone and bumps her nose into the table, making strange noises.

_“Please just say that you're a cute girl under the helmet!”_

Aquamarine grimaces. Lapis being Lapis, this is not even a question.

_“How about we meet and you check this out?~”_

“Ugh. Surely, he simply sent this answer to everyone who has a nice photo on Instagram. Do you really want to meet him?”

Lapis sighs dreamily for the fifteenth time. Of course, Aquamarine is right. She definitely can’t get any attention from 5XG, an urban superhero on a jet black bike, with a cyber costume and, possibly, cyber limbs. 5XG can get anyone.

But damn curiosity doesn’t allow Lapis to retreat. This person seemed to have come down from the pages of comics, so beloved by Lapis in childhood. Anonymity, courage on the verge of idiocy and self-confidence, not to mention selfies with the future troubles at the background. How can she say no?

“Yes. Yes I want.”

“I’ll laugh till I piss my pants, if you find out this is actually a guy.”

Lapis ignores this tease, quickly typing the answer and erasing it. She can’t look like an obsessive and stupid fan.

_“I’ll be happy! When?”_

The “read” mark appears on her answer so fast, so it seems like 5XG didn’t close the dialogue, waiting for her answer.

_“How about in an hour? I can pick you up near some parking. I don’t think you wanna be seen near me, and I don’t wanna my fans to tear you apart lol. You can give me an address and I’ll pick you up~”_

“Oh dear, it seems like he is just hoping for a quick sex on his motorcycle...” Aquamarine teases, peeping at the dialogue. “I can lend you my shocker, it’s strong enough and his suit won’t help him.”

“Thanks but no... In an hour! I need to drive home, wash my hair, choose what to wear! You’ll come with me!”

Lapis grabs her backpack, writes a quick _“Okay, see you!”_ , reads the answer and almost dies right on the floor of the university cafeteria.

Aquamarine smiles hopelessly. That’s the reason not to go to the lecture! Now she can say she was trying to save a friend from being killed. That’s a good thing. And, most importantly, she won’t lie...

“Okay, okay. Let's go. But if you don't get back before midnight, I'm calling the cops.”

_“See ya, beautiful~”_


	2. Chapter 2.

_“Remember, my friend, if you don’t write me that you’re okay until midnight, I will make this freak in a helmet regret that he wrote you. Have fun~”_

Lapis knows Aquamarine for only a year and a half, but she is so sure that at midnight, like a carriage turned into a pumpkin, Instagram will turn into a place of hatred for 5XG. It is impossible to joke with her, especially if you promised something, because an incredible amount of poison and vengeance was hidden in this pretty, short girl.

_““Okay. I’ll write you.”_

After sending a message to Aquamarine, Lapis looks around. 5XG will pick her up from anywhere, preferably a place without people. The parking near her apartment building looks quite quiet, and Lapis typed the address without a second thought.

“I hope this wasn’t a joke...” she mutters to herself.

She decided not to dress up, as for an important date. Because, well, she would have to ride a motorcycle, there was no point in putting on a skirt or dress, as well as styling her hair. She fixed her everyday makeup, put on her beloved turquoise plaid shirt, jeans with holes on her knees, and brand new blue sneakers she bought just yesterday. In a small waist bag there were keys, a purse and a notebook with a pen - in case she remembers that she should ask for an autograph.

At the seventh minute of waiting, she finally hears the rumble of a motorcycle. 5XG’s bike drives from around the corner and stops next to her, picking up clouds of road dust.

“Hello, beautiful~” the rider of the bike says.

5XG was even cooler like this. This close. A tight-fitting black suit with neon green veins hid every piece of the skin, and Lapis would never have named the material from which it was made. Definitely not latex.

The helmet reflects her own stunned expression.

“Hello…”

5XG throws her a second helmet.

“Put it on. I want to show you the coolest place in this city.”

And Lapis, as if enchanted, puts on the helmet and sits on the bike, hugging 5XG’s waist. It’s actually hard to stay calm, because the bike has a great speed and rushes among the cars. Lapis doesn’t have time to see where they are going, all she sees is the strained 5XG’s back.

After a while, they finally slow down, and Lapis stands on her cotton legs, grabbing 5XG outstretched palm. Around is a wasteland and a lone refueling-car wash with a small shop. Lapis looks around. he ocean on one side and the wasteland on the other. Why did they bring her here? Was Aquamarine right, and 5XG just wanted to get some free sex at a deserted place?

“Let's go,” 5XG says softly. Lapis dutifully follows, holding on to her remnants of hope for the best.

5XG enters the store and holds the door for Lapis. Typical petrol station: energy bars and drinks, snacks and more. A teenage guy at the checkout smiles happily upon seeing who has come.

“Of course,” Lapis thinks, “it's 5XG, after all…”

“You are early today!” the guy says loudly. “Is it quiet in the city?”

5XG throws him a pair of chocolates and puts a bottle of lemonade on the cash register.

“Quiet like in the desert, Steven. Nothing happens, and it’s wonderful. Put it on my tab, okay? I will pay at the end of the week.”

Steven grimaces.

“You will what?”

“I... Gosh, Steven, don’t embarrass me in front of the lady!”

Steven laughs, and 5XG laughs back. Lapis can’t hold back a smile.

“Let's go,” says 5XG and pulls Lapis by the arm somewhere toward the door.

They find themselves on the roof of this car washing and Lapis once again looks around. This is not the roof of her skyscraper, where the city is visible, in full view. It's just a car washing on the outskirts.

But the 5XG stands on the edge of the roof, and looks at the ocean. She (he?) is not much taller than Lapis. Lapis thought that 5XG was a cut above her head, but Lapis just needed to stand on her toes and they are already the same height.

“That’s a good view of the ocean. Calm, quiet. I love to climb here and just stare at the waves.”

“Do you like the ocean?” Lapis asks, looking not at the water, but at 5XG.

Black shiny helmet doesn’t reflect any emotions. The voice from under the helmet is not real, it became clear at the very first word she heard on the broadcast, but for some reason, hearing such a voice in reality is incredibly strange, as if it’s not a person who answers you, but a voice assistant.

“Yea. But I can’t swim. So I just sit and watch.”

The 5XG sits on a sun-heated roof and taps a place opposite near.

“You probably have a bunch of questions. I will try to answer. I’ll probably answer the first one right away... I don’t know about “cute”, but I’m definitely a girl.”

“I knew it!” Lapis happily sits near. “That’s awesome. Buy you wanna hide it, right”?

5XG shrugs.

“Something like that. The suit is like a binder, but this is for protection. And since it is not clear who I am, I prefer to remain 'that guy in a helmet'. Is there anything else you’re interested in besides what’s in my pants?”

Lapis blushes and looks away. Now it looks like she is hoping for a quick sex, but the 5XG laughs and Lapis calms down a bit.

“My questions will take too much time,” she says embarrassedly, fingering a lock of blue hair in her fingers.

“I'm not in a hurry,” 5XG says relaxedly.

And Lapis asks a question.


	3. Chapter 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your nice comments!

_“I'm safe at home, don't call the cops”_

Lapis sends Aquamarine a selfie with her huge aquarium on the background, throws the phone on the bed and falls next, pulling up a pillow and happily squeaking into it. Her phone begins to vibrate immediately.

“Tell me everything,” Lapis hears and looks at the bedside watch. It’s 23:45.

“Maybe tomorrow?”

“Tell me, tomorrow we have classes in different places, and I don’t want to puke the rainbow in the cafeteria, because we can meet only there. Did you find out something?”

Lapis rolls onto her back, staring at the ceiling, covered with stars glowing in the dark. She remembers the meeting and can’t hold back a wide smile.

“She’s so cool.”

“So, it’s _she_?” Aquamarine chuckles. Lapis hears the rustling and clicking of the switch. Surely she had already gone to bed and is waiting for a bedtime story. “You didn’t throw herself on her neck with joy?”

“No, I was extremely polite. Although, I admit, I wanted to.”

“Heh. What else?”

And Lapis tells, chattering without pauses. That being in a suit constantly is quite tiring, that the suit can be removed at the touch of a button, and that putting it on is also very easy. That 5XG loves to eat sweets and browse the Internet in her free time, and that she loves the ocean and waves, because as a child she lived in a city without an ocean and any money to see big water. That she can’t stay in the water for a long time due to some health problems, and that her real identity is known by very few people she trusts.

That 5XG would like to see her again.

“Didn’t she even take her helmet off?” Aquamarine disappointed and sleepily growls. “Boring…”

“Maybe one day she’ll take it off,” Lapis says dreamily. “She knows me for only half a day, it is clear that she doesn’t trust me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, I hope I don’t see your happy face tomorrow morning. See you at lunch.”

Aquamarine hangs up and Lapis snorts. Not even a piece of happiness for a friend.

Her phone vibrates again.

_“Sleeping already?”_

Lapis nearly jumps.

_“Not yet. Need to pack a bag for tomorrow. I hope you’re not very tired because of me?”_

_“Nope =)) I had fun. If you want to see me, just come to that car wash. Steven will find me at any time, and I don’t always have the opportunity to answer on the Internet, especially while driving.”_

_"I’ll remember that! Have a good night!”_

_"Good night~”_

***

5XG puts off her phone. The starry sky looks beautiful, although it is starting to get colder. She huddles, but doesn’t leave the roof.

“Who was this girl?” she hears from behind.

Steven brings a blanket and makes her crawl onto it, so the cold roof doesn’t freeze her back.

“Her name is Lapis. Lapis Lazuli.”

“Do you know her?”

“How to say...” 5XG sighs, rubbing her eyes under glasses. She is not wearing a suit, only a plaid green shirt and old shabby jeans. “We... knew each other. Before... I became 5XG.”

Steven puts his hands to his mouth and 5XG is ready to swear that he just squeaked.

“Oooh! It's so cute! Meeting of old friends! Did you tell her everything?”

“Of course not!” exclaims 5XG, rising on her elbows, but then immediately falling back on a blanket and covering her face with her hands. “Many years passed. She probably doesn't even remember me. I don’t think she’ll be happy to know.”

Steven frowns, sitting down next to her. For a guy who had just turned seventeen, he knew how to make a very smart and all-knowing face.

“Nothing prevents you from trying to meet her without a suit, right? Like, accidentally meet her somewhere.”

5XG thoughtfully scratches her chin.

“I think it can be arranged. I don’t lose anything. Thanks, Steven. I will try tomorrow. Don’t tell Pearl. She will grumble.”

Steven smiles softly.

“I won’t. I’m gonna sleep, don’t catch cold!”

“See you tomorrow.”

Left alone, 5XG looks at the dark starry sky again. Why not give it a try. This won’t turn into a disaster? Right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Happy holidays!   
> This is the last chapter for this year, I'm gonna visit my hometown for 2 week without my laptop. So please expect updates after Jan 12!

_This turns out to be a disaster._

“Egh, my friend, I'm disappointed,” Aquamarine lazily chews her lunch, looking at Lapis with sleepy eyes. “I thought you'd find out some details...”

Lapis snorts, scrolling her Instagram feed. 5XG haven’t mentioned there about their meeting, and it was good, no one would bother her. But, on the other hand, Lapis really wants to become a part of this mysterious image.

“I'm not one of those crazy fans who are ready to tear an idol to pieces, and then store these pieces at home. We just talked, and maybe will talk again. I do not want to be a burden.”

“You need to, especially to such people. Whatever. Do what you want, just don’t sleep with her on your first date. Oops, first date already happened, so you can…”

Lapis hisses at her, threatening with a fork and blushing like a boiled crab. Aquamarine grins, enjoying this small verbal victory.

5XG doesn’t appear in the chat and online since yesterday, and Lapis walks sad until the very end of the school day, nervously reacting to every notification on the phone. And today was a day when everyone decided to put likes on her old pics in instagram.

Going home, Lapis decides to visit the library. She returned all the books taken long ago, and had not read anything for almost a month. She wants to be distracted by something where the damn notifications do not pop up. She walks between shelves for a long time, leading her eyes along the roots and names. Lapis loves books. She fell in love as a child when there was nothing to do, because her family was not always rich, and she didn’t always have an apartment in a skyscraper with an aquarium on the wall and a fur carpet. They lived poorly, without a TV and a computer, and Lapis only had books from the school library. Or the books that friends gave her.

Lapis passes her hand over the book that she likes.

_'The man who laughs.'_

She has already read this book, and she knows it by heart. The story is about a man who had a rough life, but who remained kind and sensitive. A book with a sad ending. Lapis likes movie more, in which everything ended well.

“Lapis?” She hears somewhere near and looks away from books.

At first, Lapis thinks it’s a stranger, but... She looks at the girl who called her. A little shorter than Lapis is, green eyes, blond messy hair, freckles and glasses.

“What a coincidence,” the girl says, and Lapis starts to remember things. Good and not good. “I transferred to your Uni this morning I'm Peridot, remember? Peridot Greenwood. We were…”

“I remember,” Lapis replies dryly. “Indeed, a coincidence.”

Peridot Greenwood is the last person Lapis wants to see. Now, tomorrow and in general. Lapis never wants to think about her and remember about her. It’s all in the past. In the sever-years-passed past. How dare this damned universe do this? Is this what is called balance? Like, you’ve met a new cool person, now you have to meet someone from the bloody past?

“What year are you on? And the faculty? I'm on art, maybe you too? It would be great…”

Peridot is chattering, gesturing actively, and Lapis wants to get out of the library. The books will wait. Everything will wait.

“Peridot,” she says coldly, and Peridot stops. “I have to go.”

Peridot nods, and Lapis just leaves, leaving her in the midst of book silence and dust. She sits down next to the shelves, nuzzling her knees, takes a deep breath and exhale, inhale and exhale. The devil knew that this would not go smoothly. Nothing ever goes smoothly. Not in her life.

Peridot Greenwood is just a looser.

The bluetooth earpiece in her ear beeps, and Peridot reluctantly clicks on 'accept.'

_“We have a shootout in the sixth quarter. Do you have time to get there? Puma so far diverts all attention to herself, you need to take out the hostages.”_

“Give me all the information. I'll be there in five minutes.”

She gets up and stretches, pressing a few buttons on her phone. Outside the library, a motorcycle roars.

“Nice, I’m right in the mood to hit someone in the face,” 5XG growls with her mechanical voice, jumping out of the window onto the seat of her bike.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again guys  
> I'm sorry for that delay, don't really have strength cuz of life and work  
> I'll try to update faster!

5XG makes an Instagram story at 8 PM. There’re the flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance behind her. According to the news, there was a shootout, and everyone knew 5XG would intervene.

“A bullet or two hit the suit, but everything is fine. I’ll be okay in a day or so. Have a good evening everyone.”

Lapis thinks that a “bullet or two” is still very painful, at least unpleasant. She reaches for the message section to ask if everything is really okay, but 5XG is faster.

_“Hello, beautiful. How was your day?”_

Lapis sighs and buries her face in the pillow. She hid under a blanket immediately after coming home, and lay under it without doing anything for several hours.

_“Eh... Yesterday was better. And yours? Are you okay? I saw the story. Have you seen the doctor?”_

_“I don’t think a doctor is necessary. My suit works like a bulletproof vest, so now I’m just bruising under it. Need to smear the bruise with something. Do you have ointment? If I get home like that, I’ll be scolded as if I lost an arm lol”_

_“I do have it of course. Where’re you? I’ll bring it”_

_“Nah don’t bother. I’ll pick it up from your apartment, if ya don’t mind”_

Lapis makes an incomprehensible sound into the pillow and looks around the room. The apartment is for the most part tidy. She doesn’t clean by herself, though. Once in every few days a maid comes in, cleans everything and feeds her fishes. She came the day before yesterday, and there is no mess yet.

_“You can come but are you sure no one will see you?”_

_“I’ll take a bus =)”_

_“…”_

_“lol”_

_“Okay I’ll give you an address”_

_“Oh I have it already”_

_“???”_

_“Not only yours, I have a big base of addresses and phone numbers of people in this city. Just in case someone is in trouble or need to be found. I’ll drive in 30 mins”_

_“Okay… Will be waiting”_

Lapis crawls out from under the covers and makes the bed, grumbling at herself. She doesn't know what will happen in half an hour: 5XG may just pick up the ointment and leave, may want to stay for a cup of tea, may… Lapis doesn’t want to come up with options. The main thing is that no one must find out that she is here. Otherwise, Lapis is sure that the fans will find her and paint her door with obscene words, or even catch her somewhere.

And what did she mean by “ _I’ll take the bus_ ”?

A call to her apartment rings half an hour later. Lapis managed to go around the room one hundred and fifty times by that time. She rushes to the door, nearly losing her slippers.

“Hello,” Lapis says with a wide smile, seeing 5XG in her usual black suit and black helmet. She’s slightly taller than Lapis, but now she slouches, making it look like they’re the same height. “You look tired.”

“Oh hell, is it written on my face?” 5XG "scratches" her head and laughs softly with a mechanical voice.

“Exactly. Maybe you’ll come in before any of my neighbors notice?” Lapis offers with a blush on her cheeks, and 5XG rejoices and thanks all the gods for wearing a helmet. She doesn’t want Lapis to see her eyes now.

“Just for a minute.”

That minute is as long as two hours.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh so please keep in mind that 5XG's suit works ~like Tony Stark's  
> that's not COMPLETELY like that but I took that idea of how it works from there  
> here's a gif for you guys: https://media1.tenor.com/images/60b59c1a02157d370fdb704be2bdf173/tenor.gif?itemid=12350553  
> hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Lapis doesn’t understand at what point she found the strength, arrogance and confidence to ask if 5XG wants to drink tea, but it is quite difficult to realize that 5XG is sitting in her kitchen and drinking black coffee from her mug. It turns out that the bottom of the helmet can be removed, opening the mouth. In general, not surprising. To take off a whole helmet somewhere at a gas station to have a snack would be incredibly stupid, definitely not what 5XG would do.

“So you live alone?” 5XG asks in an ordinary tone, and Lapis nods, looking around the kitchen. “Don’t you get lonely? No partner huh?”

Lapis blushes and looks away, in a stupid attempt to hide her embarrassment.

“Okay, okay, I'm just teasing,” 5XG smiles, and Lapis is terribly, just terribly wants to see how this smile fits with her eyes. She is sure this would be a great view.

5XG looks at her with sad eyes, and once again feels happy about still having a helmet on. She has a mug with Megalodone in her hands, and the coffee tastes quite expensive. This is unusual for her, but she doesn’t show that she usually drinks simple instant coffee.

“So... what happened today?” 5XG asks, seeing that Lapis is too anxious to start a conversation. “You said the day was not very good.”

“Ah... Never mind. Just met someone. Honestly, I don’t want to think about it.”

“Ex-boyfriend? Or ex-girlfriend?”

Lapis shrugs.

“Meeting my ex-girlfriend would be much nicer…”

5XG squeezes the mug in her hands, and lets it go right on time: it almost went cracked.

“Just forget it. The day got better when you arrived. How is your shoulder?” Lapis looks worried, trying to figure out which shoulder was hurt, and 5XG smiles again.

“It’s the right one,” she touches the shoulder and purses her lips. The shoulder aches a lot.

She didn’t dodge that bullet, although she saw an aimed pistol, and now she feels stupid for her idiotic thought “oh, I wonder if it hits the heart region - will it kill me or not?”

She felt so bad she wanted to die.

“Do you have a big mirror? I want to see how bad it is.”

Lapis literally jumps up from the table.

“Of course, let's go!”

Her room really has a full-length mirror. 5XG looks at herself for a while, and after a couple of seconds, part of her suit in the area of her right shoulder just slides, spreads in different directions, revealing a rather bad looking bruise. 5XG tilts her head slightly and snorts in displeasure.

“That sucks.”

Lapis’ face reflects a mixture of surprise, admiration and curiosity. Simply put, she looks at 5XG with her mouth open and her eyes wide.

“This is so cool…” she says, not knowing what else to squeeze out of her mouth.

5XG smiles proudly.

“Yes, that's pretty cool. I can bare certain parts under the costume without removing the costume itself. Moreover, it is quite durable. So strong that the bullet left just that...” 5XG touches the bruise and grimaces under the helmet. “Auch!”

“Maybe I can help with, um...” Lapis awkwardly fingers a tube of ointment in her hand. “If of course you do not mind...”

“Lapis,” 5XG says softly, returning the suit to its place and turning to face her. “Can I ask a question?”

“Y-yea what’s up?”

“You... You act like you really like me, and I can't understand why. You don’t even know how I look like. You know absolutely nothing about me, and still, you are so kind to me and want to help me. Why?”

Lapis opens her mouth to answer, but then closes it. She takes a step forward and takes 5XG’s hand, raising her head, hoping to look her in the eyes.

“You save people by risking your life. Everyday. How can I not like such a person? Plus...” She pauses and looks away, but by force of will makes herself to look at 5XG again. “I have a feeling that we... we can get along? It’s so easy to communicate with you, it’s nice to spend time, as if you... if you’re not a famous superhero. As if you’re just a person who wants to talk. And I'm ready to be around if you want.”

“Even if you only know me for only two days?”

“Oh, come on. I watch your every instagram broadcast, I know the brand of your favorite yogurt.”

“Sounds creepy~”

“Hey I’m not…”

“Lapis ...” 5XG gently covers her hand with her palm. Despite the costume, Lapis feels warm. “Thanks. I really needed to talk to someone. I'm glad that it is you.”

“Oh, by the way, I have a counter-question,” Lapis smiles, slowly taking her hand back. “Why me? You chose me from all those who wrote to you. Why me?”

5XG awkwardly “scratches” the back of her head, causing Lapis to giggle.

“I liked your profile pic? Probably? I don’t know, I just saw your question, it amused me, I looked at your account, and you seemed like an interesting person for communication? An artist, and even so beautiful? I could not pass by!”

“Oh shush. So, do you need a help with your shoulder?”

“…of course.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all think I will make it not painful?   
> nope.

_“Good morning, beautiful~”_

Lapis smiles sleepily, unlocking her phone and reading messages from 5XG. Somehow, this simple phrase accompanies her every morning for a whole week, and Lapis is extremely glad to think that she is the only one 5XG writes it. She locks other thoughts deep, deep inside. She has plenty of such (bad and heavy) thoughts, and something warm like 5XG is almost the only salvation for her.

_“Morning. Have you slept well?”_

_“Haven’t slept at all. Had to be in patrol the whole night. Puma asked to cover her so I had to stay up. Gotta be awake will the evening now ugh…”_

Puma evokes mixed feelings in Lapis. She also helps the city, she also saves people, but if 5XG tries to do everything with minimal loss and destruction, Puma usually leaves a mountain of ruins behind. The police hate her even more than 5XG, and people's opinions are divided into "she saves lives" and "she only makes things worse." Once the burning building nearly collapsed because of her, and only thanks to 5XG no one died. But they are friends, sometimes do Instagram lives together talking about the day, and Lapis can’t do anything about it.

In the end, Puma is also a hero, and Lapis is not.

_“Don’t wanna break the sleep regime?”_

_“I’ll die remaking it again. And there’re lots of shit to do today.”_

_“For example?”_

_“That’s a secret~”_

Lapis growls disappointedly into the pillow.

_“Superhero things?”_

_“Ehhh you can say so. I’ll do the thing I’m very afraid of. Wish me luck?”_

_“Sure! I hope everything will be great. Good luck!”_

_“Thanks. I’ll write you later.”_

_“Will be waiting~”_

The university meets Lapis with students running back and forth, but Lapis, inspired by the morning conversation, pays no attention, sometimes bumping into people passing by. Aquamarine has to pull her into the audience by the elbow, restraining impulses to slap her face.

“You're acting like you're fifteen, Lazuli, stop flying in the clouds! We have a history now. HISTORY, Lazuli, you almost got kicked out last year because of it.”

Lapis doesn't know why there is a history of the world separately from the history of world art at the Faculty of Art. With all her heart she hates to memorize the dates of the some uprising or death of the leader of some god forgotten country. Writing notes is pain in the ass: an old woman that reads lectures can only be heard from the front desks, and Lapis always sits as far away as possible from the teacher.

Their groups at the faculty of art are small, two groups of fifteen people each. In the first year, there was much more, but someone left at will, someone just did not pass, someone went on academic leave for health reasons. Lapis is sure there will be even less people in future. She hopes so, seeing a girl in a green plaid shirt at the front desk. She wasn't there yesterday.

“Ah, she is new,” Aquamarine notices her gaze. “Transferred in the middle of the year, because of some emergency. Today is her first day. Lazuli? You look like you're going to extort money from her at lunch.”

Lapis takes a breath and exhales.

“We are not at school...” she says, propping her cheek with her hand. “Although, I do think, she definitely was bullied at school.”

“Looks nerdy…” says Aquamarine. “Do you think she’ll give me her homework if we become friends?”

She says it with a very serious face, and for a second, Lapis believes her.

“Just kidding. I'm smart enough to do everything myself, ”Aquamarine winks. “But it's worth saying hi. Such people usually go immediately to occupy some places in the student council, and it would be great to have at least someone from the art department there.”

“Say hi…” Lapis mutters. “Ugh.”

Though Aquamarine doesn’t have to say hi. The girl approaches them when the class is over.

“Hi,” Peridot says. “We couldn’t talk yesterday, I hope there is a minute now? Oh, I'm sorry,” she looks at Aquamarine. “I'm Peridot. Peridot Greenwood.”

“Nice,” Aquamarine smiles sweetly, “do you already know each other?”

“Yes,” Peridot smiles wider, “Lapis and I...”

“Were acquaintances, nothing much,” Lapis interrupts. “Our parents were friends.”

Peridot's heart falls, but her expression doesn’t change. However, Aquamarine notices how the corners of her lips trembled.

"Wow, this is a meeting of old friends!" she exclaims, trying to look as NOT suspicious as possible. “How about sitting together at the next lecture? It’s even more boring than on history, plus chemists will sit with us, there will be a full audience, we can talk a lot."

Lapis wants to argue, but the bell tells her about the imminent start of the lecture, and she has no choice but to quickly take her place next to Peridot, who, in some damned way, was able to sit between her and Aquamarine.

“ _It will be a long day,”_ she writes in a chat with 5XG, but silence is her answer for a few more hours.


	8. Chapter 8

The lecture really turns out to be so boring that Lapis decides to listen to the quiet whispering of Aquamarine and Peridot. She is absolutely not interested in what they are talking about, but she makes sure that Aquamarine doesn't start asking something too personal. Peridot has an excellent memory, Lapis knows this. And an incredibly long tongue.

“...so in the end I decided to transfer to art department,” Peridot says, twirling a turquoise pen in her hands. “I hope I can stay here until the graduation.”

“It's not as interesting as you see,” Aquamarine shrugs, throwing a glance at the students falling asleep everywhere. She would now lie on her notebook, hiding behind a book, and just sleep, but Peridot seems curious to her. Lapis never reacted like that to other people. Even Jasper, whom she doesn't want to see in the next few decades.

“It’s easier among creative people...” Peridot sighs, meeting her eyes with Lapis' and smiling awkwardly. "I feel at ease. If I dye my hair light green, I won't be expeled."

Lapis unknowingly touches the blue strand of her hair and recalls the ridiculous conversation from childhood.

**_“When I grow up, I will dye my hair blue!”_ **

**_“And I'll in light green!"_ **

But Peridot's hair is still blond, only the length has changed. And even with a fashionable short haircut, Peridot looks like she just woke up and forgot to braid her hair, but it always has been so, and Lapis is not surprised.

“Do you guys go swimming?” She changes the subject to move away from possible conversations about the past. “It's next.”

Aquamarine shrinks and pretends to be very sad.

“I have to. I have already skipped about five classes already, if I miss one more, it’s for sure a death for me. They will make me come every day and stay in the water. So today I’m with you. And you, Peridot?”

Peridot shakes her head.

“I can't swim. My health doesn’t allow that.”

“Health?” Lapis says sharply before she thinks. “Didn't we swim together in elementary school?”

She didn’t want to ask this question, but for some reason Peridot’s phrase angered her. Inside, she understands that anything could have happened over the years, but her inner voice angrily and venomously insists that she must have bought a fake certificate.

“A lot...” Peridot looks away and clears her throat. “A lot of things happened. I must not go into the water and play sports. So I will go home after this class.”

Aquamarine smiles insidiously and puts her hand on Lapis’ shoulder. Lapis shudders.

“You can look at our suffering from the second floor. There is a loggia. Well, to my misery, Lapis loves to swim. And then we can go have a snack somewhere. Don’t want to just go home after.”

Leaning back in her chair, Peridot sighs and rubs her eyes under her glasses.

“I would love to, but I haven’t slept this night. A friend asked me to help with a new equipment for her tattoo parlor, and I spent the whole night helping her to sort shit that she uses to draw on people.”

In Aquamarine’s eyes, there're stars and some incomprehensible treachery sparkling at the same time.

“You have friends in TATTOO PARLOR? This is so cool! Lapis will definitely need the address, there’s one on her back that...”

“ENOUGH!” Lapis raises her voice, and the students from the front tables hiss at her, and the lecturer falls silent for a couple of seconds. “This is my own business,” she adds in a whisper, angrily glancing at Aquamarine.

Peridot, dumbfounded, corrects glasses slipping on her nose.

“Oh, well... If anything, it's the “Pink Lion” parlor... My friend works there, you can say her that you’re from me...” She props her chin with her hand and looks as distant as possible. “My friend said that _even 5XG asked for a sketch_.”

Aquamarine’s smile stretches even wider. The bell rings, telling about the end of the class, and Peridot hastily leaves, leaving Lapis in an incomprehensible state. A state of curiosity and strange anger.


	9. Chapter 9

Before Peridot has time to go out of the Uni, her phone begins to ring the most annoying tune that mankind could come up with. It took a lot of time to find one, and Peridot is truly proud of herself and her choice.

“Hey nerd. Caught some sleep?” she hears.

“About five mins at the latest lecture,” Peridot answers, slowly wandering to the bus-stop. "Now I’m just going back home to sleep until the evening."

Her phone is silent for a few seconds before a grunt is heard.

"Do you still go to this university? Why the hell do you need it for? Hasn't Pearl taught you everything she knows? You can make a damn reactor if you're too bored."

“That’s not about the knowledge…”

"Yeah, yeah I know. Steven told me. I'm just worried about you. Not as much as about Pearl, but still..."

Peridot huffs, sitting on a bench near the bus-stop. Talking while actually holding the phone is unusual to her, so she puts it in her other hand, lazily stretching out in her seat. She is not exactly sure which bus is going to the place she needs, so she just wants to get to at least somewhere where she can change clothes and call her bike, which will take her home with the built-in autopilot function.

“I’m very offended now, ya know?” she smiles.

“You, unlike your sister, remember that you need to eat and sleep. But she won’t do anything for herself, you know. Yesterday I watched all night for her to sleep. You have no idea how many times she woke up and tried to start working.”

“And I wondered what you were doing there all night. By the way, Amethyst...” Peridot's voice becomes more serious. “Do you think I can get a tattoo?”

Amethyst is silent for a while, surprised at such a sharp change of subject.

“In theory yes. But the question is…”

“ _Where_?”

“Exactly. You cannot make it visible if you want it to be a tattoo. Not just a drawing. Maybe only on your back…”

Peridot sighs, nervously clenching her free hand into a fist. Aquamarine said that Lapis has a tattoo, but where can it be?.. Not on her arms for sure.

“What sketch 5XG would like?”

“Wh-“

“Just think. I told Lapis that 5XG asked for a sketch in your parlor. Can you come up with something if she comes?”

“I’ll tell her that you want a Robocop on your ass,” Amethyst laughs, and Peridot knows this is not a bad laugh. It’s a “friendly teasing” laugh. “Alright. I’ll sketch something. Is she going to come in?”

“I don't know. Maybe. I would like to. If she comes in, call me, I’ll come too”

“You or 5XG?”

“Firstly me, then we’ll see. My bus has arrived, I will write to you in the evening when I wake up.”

“See ya, Peridot.”

Peridot puts her phone in a pocket and rests her head on the window. Glasses unpleasantly tap on the glass when the bus moves, but she is too sleepy to pay attention to it. All she wants is to get under her blanket. Not to meet Pearl would be great.

Peridot loves her sister more than anything, but today absolutely she doesn’t want to see anyone else.

***

Meanwhile, in the univesity pool, Lapis comes last in the swim, and the coach anxiously asks her to swim closer.

"Are you okay?" the coach asks, and Lapis takes off her glasses, coughing up water. She learned to dive perfectly in elementary school, and now she is angry with herself that she is worried about some nonsense and cannot swim for her pleasure.

“I didn’t get enough sleep tonight,” she lies, not inventing another excuse.

“Get out then, and go home. I let you go.”

The dissatisfied “ooooh...” is heard from other students, but the coach barks at them that Lapis has not missed a single lesson, and the girls shut up, gurgling underwater. Lapis crawls out and takes a shower in record time, changes clothes and dries her hair.

5XG hasn’t replied all day, she was enraged by the appearance of Peridot, and Aquamarine reminded her of the unsuccessful tattoo on her back that she doesn't see, but now she remembers what it exists.

She needs a walk.

She doesn’t do home. She goes to her favorite coffee shop for a cup of latte, to her favorite paint shop, to her favorite park.

“Parlor "Pink Lion", was it...” she mutters under her breath and types the name in google cards.

Since she has some free time…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for 100 kudos! That really means a lot to me.   
> If you enjoy that work you can support me on my kofi: https://ko-fi.com/kiradillinger  
> That'll help me to feed my pets =)   
> Anyway, I'll try to update faster.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please enjoy Amethyst and Peridot being true friends xD

When a girl with blue hair appears on the threshold of the parlor, accompanied by bell ringing above the door, Amethyst drops her sandwich down. She bends to pick it up, and, standing up, hits her head against the table top.

“Hello!” She shouts from there, rubbing the top of her head and sadly sending the sandwich into the trash. With that amount of dust in the carpet, even microbes won’t eat it now. “One sec!”

Lapis sips her already-cooled coffee from her cup and examines the interior, which is quite unusual for a tattoo parlor. She always thought that tattoo parlors exist only in the cellars, with wild skulls and chains sketches on walls, and that tattoo masters don't have a single clean piece of skin. The Pink Lion has light walls with nice sketches, sofas and a coffee machine next to them. And the tattoo master, who finally came out to meet her, doesn't have any visible tattoos. But there is a piercing on the eyebrow, nose, and at least four earrings in each ear.

“Hey,” Lapis says, still looking for some signs of tattoos on a short sun-tanned girl. "A girl I know told me about you... I wanted to learn something about tattoos."

“Of course, take a seat. I am free for now. What’s your name?” Amethyst takes out a smartphone and writes something with great speed, almost without looking at the screen. In response, the smartphone vibrates wildly, shutting up only when Amethyst writes another short message.

“Lapis Lazuli. Or just Lapis.”

“Good, Lapis,” Amethyst smiles and sits on the sofa, nodding to Lapis. “What are you interested in?”

Lapis takes a deep breath. She delayed a conversation about this topic for a long time, only reading articles on the Internet, but that never helped.

“Making a new tattoo above the existing one. How difficult is this process?”

Amethyst frowns and taps a finger on her cheek. She didn’t expected that from this girl.

“Depends on a tattoo. How old is it?”

“About four years. It wasn’t made very carefully and after a couple of years it almost erased. I would like to... Either get rid of it completely, or close it with something else.”

Amethyst smirks. Peridot will be surprised.

“I have quite a lot of experience in covering unsuccessful tattoos. I am an excellent master, so if you decide to deal with it, no one will do better than me in this city.”

She sounds so confident that Lapis unwittingly believes her words. The damn tattoo has been annoying for many years, but just erasing it will not make any sense. Better to... Cover the past with the present.

“I'll think about it, well... what about...”

The bell above the door rings, letting another person in. Amethyst smiles widely, while Lapis purses her lips.

“Peridot, what a surprise,” Amethyst doesn’t hide the joy of teasing, approaching her friend and patting her on the back. Peridot tries to catch her breath and nearly throws the paper bag she brought with her in Amethyst’s face.

“Surprise, motherfucker,” she snarls, adjusting her glasses and falling to the nearest sofa. “Haven’t you, damn it, asked me to bring you food, because, you said, you work so hard, you don’t have time to sleep or eat, and you’re dying here? I believed you, and you’re just sitting here messing around with... Oh, hello, Lapis...”

Аmethyst takes a cheese sandwich from the bag and sits back at her table, ready to watch the show. Lapis looks at Amethyst with a plea, but Amethyst pretends she doesn’t understand what is happening at all.

“Came here to catch 5XG?” Peridot smiles, and Lapis feels herself blushing. “I think it's just a rumor...”

“5XG?” Amethyst mumbles with her mouth full. She raises her finger, asking to wait, and, finally finishing her food, makes such a smug expression that Peridot already knows that tomorrow they will fight. “No rumors. She has an appointment for today. Should be here any moment, we were going to think about the sketch. But, she asked about privacy, so… Peridot… Get the hell out of here.”

Unholy sounds are heard from Peridot.

“I probably have to leave too?:” Lapis asks sadly, getting up from the sofa and already grabbing her bag.

“You can stay,” Amethyst shrugs, enjoying Lapis’ happy face. “The last time she was here, she couldn’t shut up about a cool girl she met, and I bet all my piercing, you’re the only Lapis with blue hair in this city.”

Behind Lapis, Peridot sends a gesture "I will kick your ass."

“So, Peridot, thanks for the food, I'll give you money back later~”

Peridot growls in response, but realizes that the story must be believable.

“Okay okay. See you at the university, Lapis.”

“Yeah, see you...” Lapis answers, not really thinking about the words, and Peridot’s heart aches.

5XG enters the parlor five minutes later, brushing off the suit from raindrops. Lapis jumps up. Seeing her warm smile, 5XG wants to come closer, hug her, and stay like that for at least an hour, but Amethyst’s arrogant smirking face spoils all the joy.

“Lapis?” 5XG fakes the surprise. “What’re you doing here?”

Lapis embarrassedly squeezes the strap of the bag in her fingers.

“Someone I know said that sometimes you come here, I got interested... I didn’t even think that you really would come.”

5XG rubs the back of her helmet and looks out the window. It suddenly started raining.

An idea comes to her mind instantly.

“Amethyst, what time are you closing?” 5XG asks ordinary. Amethyst raises her eyebrows up.

“Eh, at eight, but hey, I live here...”

“Great! So, I have time to take Lapis home, and then come back to you. It’s so cold and nasty outside, I don’t think she can catch a taxi now.”

Amethyst knows: under her helmet, 5XG smiles triumphantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you wanna know why Lapis hats Peridot so much. Wait for it, the story will reveal it in chapter 13.   
> For now - some fluff ahead.


	11. Chapter 11

They stand under a canopy of the Pink Lion for several minutes, in an awkward silence looking at a bike flooded with rain; a little more, it seems, and it will float. The weather forecast promised rain, but Lapis completely forgot about it, too buried in her thoughts. Getting home seems almost impossible now. She looks at her smartphone, which promises a slight stillness in about an hour, and then looks at 5XG, whose emotions (panic and stress, to be honest), are still hidden behind the black glass of her helmet.

"Maybe we’ll wait inside?" Lapis offers. 5XG twitches and shakes her head.

"No no. I have another idea. Do you want to wait on the roof?"

5XG raises her finger up, and Lapis inexplicably raises her head, only to rest her gaze on the canopy.

Realizing that she screwed up a little in this proposal, 5XG is in a hurry to clarify.

“Y-yes, there is a small gazebo. Nobody knows about it, except me... And, well, Amethyst, who showed it to me. There's a great view to the city, and there we will be save from the rain. And when it stops, I'll take you home. If we ride a bike now, you will catch a cold. I'll be safe under my suit, but you...”

Her voice sounds so worried and caring that Lapis feels warm in her chest, and butterflies that have been hibernating for many years seem to have fluttered in her stomach.

"Sure. I don't mind,” she replies, smiling.

5XG thanks the gods for the rain. She presses something on the forearm of her suit, and her black bike starts and rides away, almost spraying them with water.

“Let it ride to a dry place while we hide. It will come back later." 5XG explains. "Now let's go."

She leads Lapis to an inconspicuous door on the side of the building. There is a lock, but when 5XG touches it, it opens as if by itself, leaving Lapis with mixed feelings. She smirks when 5XG gallantly opens the door for her, and passes into the darkness.

"The hero of the city 5XG so brazenly breaks into someone else's property?" She says and hears a mechanical sound of laugh from under her helmet.

"Oh, come on. Like I'm going to steal something. Only maybe..." she says the last sentence slowly, leaning toward Lapis. "Your heart?~"

She holds out a hand, turning on a flashlight in the other hand, and Lapis laughs, taking her cool palm. They slowly, so as not to fall, climb the stairs up. 5XG is slightly ahead, highlighting the path with her left hand.

“You did that a long time ago,” Lapis says quietly, squeezing 5XG's palm a little, but no answer follows, and she, with a strange sense of relief and resentment, understands that she said it not loudly.

The way up takes an unexpectedly long time, and Lapis stops to rest, reluctantly letting go of 5XG's hand. 5XG immediately turns to her, shining a flashlight in her face.

"Oh, sorry. Are you okay? It's just a little more, I'm sorry I didn’t immediately warn you, I’m not used to going up this stairs with someone, Amethyst stopped going here, and I usually just climb the outer wall..."

“It's all right,” Lapis interrupts, taking her hand again. Even after such climbing, 5XG's palm is still cool. Is it rain or a suit?... "I do swimming, I'm in a great shape. I just haven't climb somewhere so high for a long time... Wait... Do you climb the outer wall?!"

5XG giggles awkwardly, rubbing the back of Lapis' palm with her thumb.

"Well yes. The suit allows that, I can run upright to the roof. I decided not to repeat this trick with you in my arms, but if you want, I can bring you to the roof if you are tired and..."

Lapis snorts and silently goes forward. Her eyes get used to the dark, and when 5XG turns off the flashlight and opens the door to the roof (breaking another lock), she squints, not immediately realizing that rain still drips on top of her head. 5XG pulls her through the rain, and finally, they find themselves under a wide canopy, under which there are several benches and a table.

There is no wind, so almost no water fell under the canopy, and the benches are dry, which is incredibly pleasing to Lapis, who is glad to sit down after such an ascent.

“Sorry, you still had to get a little wet,” 5XG says guiltily (for the umpteenth time), weightlessly shaking drops of water from Lapis' hair. Drops on her suit slowly flow down by themselves, forcing Lapis to think about the heating system inside.

“It's okay,” Lapis ruffles her hair, leaning back on the cool back of the bench. It stands backwards to the edge, and the city is not visible, but Lapis doesn't want to look at it. She had seen enough from the window of her apartment. "Are you cold? Your suit is pretty cool outside."

5XG sits down near her, looking at her own palms as if it was the first time she saw them.

“Oh... No, not cold. The suit doesn't let the cold crawl inside. I'm fine."

They silently sit near each other for some time, listening to the sound of rain, which, apparently, is not going to calm down yet. Lapis thinks with a smile, that when the 5XG sits still, it is impossible to understand whether she is sleeping or not, and this thought immediately prompts her to others, more sad thoughts.

“Listen...” she says, turning to 5XG. “May I ask one question?”

5XG twitches, as if she really were napping under a helmet, and nods.

“Have Amethyst seen... Who you really are? Under the helmet.”

“Of course, we've known each other for a long time...”

5XG answers before she even understands the question, and mentally punches herself in the face. She was too relaxed and allowed her sleepiness to prevail.

“Well, she is my sister's friend, and she knew me before I became... Ugh... Never mind.”

Lapis' eyes are sad, and 5XG wants to punch herself for real.

“Lapis?”

“Sorry, just...” Lapis sighs, raising her eyes and seeing her own reflection in a black helmet. “I thought that perhaps one day I, too, could see... you. N-not that I demanded it right now, of course not. Just a little... Jealous.”

5XG's heart hurts, and she wants to take off the damn suit right now, but she's... Scared. She saw Lapis’ reaction to herself, and this reaction isn't clear to her, it’s not clear why so... And if she does it now, everything can break down. Everything will collapse, and she won't ever see the smile she looks at 5XG with. And a gaze full of warmth and desire to stay near longer. Let it be just a blind adoration of an idol, or a belief that 5XG is a good person.

She wants to enjoy it a little longer. A little bit longer, and then she will tell her everything.

“I... I can’t yet reveal myself to you completely,” she squeezes the words, swallowing a lump formed in her throat. “But... I think I have an idea. To do this, I need to know if I can trust you one hundred percent.”

Lapis jumps off the bench, clenching her hands into fists.

“You can. Of course you can. Anything, I'm on your side.”

5XG stands in front of her, putting her hands on her shoulders. The decision is not easy, but she wants to try. Perhaps this will be the end of everything, but... Something inside says that everything will work out.

“You need to close your eyes and in no case open until I say that you can. Can you do that for me?”

Lapis looks surprised, but nods and closes her eyes.

“Don't open until I allow, okay? Otherwise, perhaps this is our last meeting.”

“Don't say such things...”

“Then don’t open.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

Lapis closes her eyes more tightly, almost squinting. 5XG takes a deep breath.

_Exhale._

Peridot takes off her helmet and takes Lapis' palms in hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooooo what do ya think will happen


	12. Chapter 12

When her palms touch Peridot's cheeks, Lapis suppresses the urge to open her eyes and look at her face. Peridot is silent, letting go of her hands, and Lapis understands what the idea is.

“I can’t see but I can touch?” she smiles, rubbing her thumbs on Peridot’s cheeks and nose bridge. Peridot nods.

Going down with her palms to her neck, Lapis feels the part of the suit there and frowns, returning her hands back to her cheeks. Peridot grins sadly.

“This is a device for changing my voice,” she says, and Lapis sadly realizes that the voice is still with mechanical notes. It’s like an automatic translator who already speaks very well, but you can still understand that this is not a person.

“I thought it was because of the helmet.”

Lapis leads her palms higher, digging her fingers into her hair and wondering what her hairstyle is. The hair is in obvious mess, but it is soft and very pleasant to touch, about the same length as Lapis’. She touches the temples on both sides, wondering if there is an undercut. A quiet purring sound is heard, causing Lapis to have another attack of desire to open her eyes and look at the expression on her face. She scratches lightly behind her ear, making sure that the sound was not an accident.

“A hazard to all criminals, 5XG loves being scratched behind her ear, how sweet,” she laughs.

_Peridot feels like crying._

Lapis’s here, right in front of her, touches her face and smiles, loves 5XG, and, apparently, hates Peridot Greenwood. They had’t seen each other for seven years, broke up as best friends telling each other every secret, Peridot was in love with her since kindergarten, what the hell happened...

Feeling some changes, Lapis runs her fingers near the corners of Peridot’s eyes and wipes the tears. She gives herself the command not to open her eyes in any way.

“Are you...” Lapis asks quietly, and Peridot covers her palms with her own, sighing.

“It’s okay.”

Lapis doesn’t believe these words, but no explanation follows, and she gently strokes her cheek. Peridot flinches when Lapis runs a thumb over her lips, and doesn’t stop herself from grabbing her hand and kissing her palm. Peridot’s heart beats like crazy. With a blush on her cheeks and parted lips, Lapis freezes, afraid to move, and Peridot takes advantage of this. Perhaps this is her only chance.

Without releasing Lapis’ hands from her own, Peridot leans forward and kisses her, squinting, not wanting to know if Lapis opened her eyes or not. Lapis doesn’t push her away, but doesn’t react either, and Peridot pulls away, feeling the tears rolling slowly on her cheek.

Lapis' eyes are still closed, and Peridot smiles wryly to herself, sniffing.

“I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I should have asked, I...”

Lapis closes her mouth with her hands and closes her eyes even more. And instead of the anger that Peridot is waiting to hear, Lapis makes a happy sob.

“Don’t apologize, I just... I didn’t have time to react... I was so happy that... Oh hell, can we do this again and I won’t fuck up?”

Peridot laughs with tears in her voice and puts her palms on Lapis' cheeks, covers her lips again with her own and feels Lapis answering the kiss, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Everything turns upside down inside her, her head rummaging around the questions “what next?”, “how to be?”, “how to tell her?”, but at that moment she decides to forget about them. Lapis Lazuli clings to her whole body, smiling into the kiss.

For the first time in seven years, Peridot truly regrets that she can’t _really_ feel something with her hands. She also needs to somehow tell Lapis about this. Later. When the rain ends and she takes her home. When she will have to come up with answers to the questions that Lapis will necessarily ask.

She pulls away and with a movement of her hand makes the helmet appear again. Tears cover her eyes, and she wants her voice to become as mechanical and empty as possible, so that Lapis doesn’t understand anything.

“You can open your eyes,” 5XG says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys I have like... 100+ kudos but only 3-4 comments and that's a little... frustrating kinda.   
> I'd love to know what do you think.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot to everyone who left comments! That was really great. Love ya all <3

“And then I just sat on her lap, and she noted that my heart was beating too fast, it turned out that she has a heartbeat sensor built into her suit and she watched it, isn't that super cute?”

Aquamarine makes a long “ugggggghh” and tries to figure out why she still hasn't hung up. Lapis called her an hour ago and has been chattering nonstop since. On the other hand, it’s still better than seeing her happy face.

“So you are now a couple or what?”

Lapis pauses for ten seconds, giving a break to Aquamarine's ears.

“Yes? I think yes? We have not discussed this yet.”

Aquamarine puts a palm on her face.

“Find it out, and tell me the rest tomorrow. I don’t have any strengths to listen to your happy squeaking…”

There are beeps in the phone and Lapis snorts. She knows that Aquamarine is actually happy for her, but she won’t say it out loud because of her character. Her question, however, bothers Lapis. After what happened on the roof, 5XG drove her home and immediately left, and they didn’t talk to each other after.

Lapis opens private messages. She decides to start simple.

_"Hey, are you there?"_

But there’s no answer, and even in the morning, having checked the phone first thing, Lapis doesn’t see the notification.

“Probably busy with her superhero stuff,” Lapis thinks and decides not to spam her. If she doesn’t answer in the evening, then she can panic.

***

Seeing Lapis, Aquamarine pinches her nose, but still pats her friend on the back.

“Eh, when I said you need to find a girlfriend, I didn’t mean that, but it’s okay too.”

Lapis smiles radiantly. They sit at the back tables in the classroom, and Aquamarine looks out for one of the students, frowns, and doomedly sits down next to Lapis.

“Shit.”

“What?”

“It seems Peridot isn't here today. I wanted to get the last lecture from her. Do you know where she is?”

All the joy instantly falls from Lapis’ face.

“I don’t know. Why would I know?”

All this joy seems to pass to Aquamarine, who props her cheek with her hand and smiles strangely, looking at Lapis.

“You kind of know each other for a long time. Did something happen between you two? Each time she is near, you look like you put a piece of rotten lemon in your mouth. You have such a mixture of emotions on your face, when I say her name.”

Lapis purses her lips and tries to look away.

“This was in the past. We didn’t… parted up very well.”

Although, in fact, Lapis lies, and knows that she is lying. They parted as best friends, in tears, because Peridot had to move away very sudden.

“Were you girlfriends?” Aquamarine asks and Lapis winces.

“Oh, stars, no. We were fourteen years old.”

“And what could have generated such hatred, that even after so many years you can’t talk to her? Did she break your favorite Twilight DVD?”

Lapis is silent.

“God, Lapis, yesterday you told me non-stop about the love of your live, tell me what I really want to hear now. I won’t rush to Peridot and I won’t tell her how bad you are. If everything is so bad, then okay, of course, don’t tell. I just thought that maybe I could help you fix this.”

“Ugh... Okay.”

The lecture begins, and Lapis lowers her voice, hiding behind the textbook set on the table.

“We were very good friends, we grew up together. But when I was… fourteen I think, Peridot said that her family was going to move to her older sister in another state. We were both very upset, especially me. I had no friends except her. And when they were leaving, Peridot promised to write, call, said that she even get social networks to follow each other. And... nothing.”

It’s surprisingly easy for her to say that. No lump in her throat, no negative emotions. As if she is retelling the plot of a book.

“I thought that she just doesn’t have a network to write to me how and where she is. And then my parents told me what her family borrowed lots of money from our family. They took a very large amount of money from us on the pretext that they wanted to settle in a new place. And then they just took it and disappeared somewhere in Europe. I thought that even if her parents did so, then maybe Peridot would remain my friend? But no, all these years - not a single message, no information. As if she never existed in my life. And now she appears, and behaves as if she hadn’t disappeared for seven years, as if only yesterday we had a sleepover with films and discussions about cheerleaders teams from a neighboring school.”

Aquamarine snorts on the last sentence, but what she’ve heard is surprising. Not such a story from childhood she expected.

“Lapis, she was a child. So were you. Perhaps her parents forced her. You don’t know how life turned for her in a new place. And you just hate her.”

“Listen, seriously,” Lapis rubs the bridge of her nose and growls softly. “Finding me on Instagram is simple. On Facebook, anywhere. She could write to me. Could find.”

“So, if she'd wrote to you, would you not hate her? What would change?”

“I don't hate her, I... Ugh, I just don't understand her. You're right, yes, she was a child, and I don’t know anything about her now. But what can I do?”

“There is one secret technique, Lapis,” Aquamarine sighs, looking Lapis in the eyes. “ It allows to understand other people. It is called “talk to her you fucking idiot”.”

Lapis squeezes her phone in her hand, not seeing any notifications yet. Maybe Aquamarine is right. Maybe for her to finally enjoy the new good page in her life, she needs to deal with all the black spots in her past. In the end, Peridot at least can tell her what was the reason. Or who was. Lapis remembers how she hadn’t left the house for several days, staying under the covers and shedding tears, thinking that she was a terrible friend, since Peridot decided to leave her behind.

“Okay. Okay, I'll talk to her when she comes back.”

***

“Couldn’t you get to your room?”

Peridot turns to the other side and sleepily looks at her sister, who is standing next to the sofa, resting her hands on her hips.

“Be grateful I didn’t curl up on the rug under the door... I could barely crawl.”

“And I said you before… sleep in time, don’t rush hell knows where…”

“Pearl, I don’t want to hear something like that from you. I need another five hours of sleep, and I will go on duty.”

Pearl smiles indulgently and sits down on the edge of the couch. She is twenty-nine and a half years old, has three higher educations and a bunch of patented projects, and she sleeps for maximum of six hours per night, and sometimes doesn’t sleep at all, taking caffeine pills.

“Have you been doing well lately?” She asks, straightening the blanket. “You act strange.”

Peridot covers her head with a blanket.

“Everything is bad and good at the same time, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you want to talk about this?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. I fell in love for the second time in my life, and the second time with the same person, and she, for some damn reason, hates me, but she loves 5XG, and now we are probably together, but she is not with me - me, but with another me. I want to open up to her, but I'm afraid that her hatred for me will be stronger than her love for 5XG, and this second chance, presented by fate, will be lost.”

Pearl has about a hundred options and possible answers, and not one of them seems appropriate.

“This is... The girl you talked about a long time ago? Your childhood friend?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you'll find out where the hatred comes from first? You didn’t do anything to her. On the contrary, you thought about her, and didn’t tell her anything about... All this.”

From under the covers, the unholy sad noises are heard. Peridot was already thinking about it. Ask Lapis what is in her head. Apparently, it's time to talk to her.

“I'll try. Are not you angry? That I am…”

“That you can reveal your identity? Don’t worry.” Pearl pats her on the shoulder, rising from the sofa. “I believe in your brain. This is the only thing that is still okay in your body, heh… Get enough sleep, sis, if my overheard police talks don’t fail me, today will be a fun night.”

Peridot buries her nose into the pillow and squintes her eyes.

They need to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hohoho~


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments! I love you guys <3

_“Hi, sorry I didn't answer. Gettin’ ready to kick some butts, the night promises to be fun. I'll write you tomorrow afternoon, okay? Good night."_

_“Of course, good luck!”_

5XG hides her phone in a special compartment in the bike and stretches. Puma sits next to her, smiling. She wears the same suit, only bright purple, with an open lower part of the face and a ponytail at the back of her head. She has two whips, and can work with them as masterly as with a tattoo machine. Although sometimes she fails, like accidentally breaking a fire hydrant a flooding the street.

“Every time you stretches, I have very strange feelings,” Puma says, and 5XG grunts through her helmet.

“It helps to calm down. Let's finish this quick, I want to be in good shape tomorrow.”

“Are you planning something?”

“An important conversation.”

Puma says a long "aaaah", and decides not to ask questions yet. Today's night is one of many when there is information that someone is about to be an asshole somewhere. Today, for example, some gang allegedly intended to rob an ATM. The police car is already lurking around the corner, and 5XG and Puma are on the roof, staying alert if something go wrong.

“Plans are changing,” they both suddenly hear in their headphones. Pearl's voice is tired and sleepy, but still stern and as crisp as possible. “Nightclub is on fire in 7th sector, a fire truck is on the way, but Peridot will get there earlier. You need to check that everyone managed to get out. I sent you the address, go now. Amethyst, stay in position.”

Puma grimaces when 5XG jumps from the roof without a word, and, taking full advantage of her suit, runs down the wall. A second, and her bike leaves in the other direction.

“Why do I stay here?” She sighs, watching a team of people in black jackets sneak to a street ATM.

“Because the last time you were let to the burning building, three blocks were flooded,” comes the answer.

“But no one was hurt ...” Puma snorts, getting on a low start. Two cops arrived, and did not come up with anything better than starting firing in the air before they come close enough to keep the whole gang in sight. As a result, three thieves threw the hacking equipment and raised their hands, but one of them opened the fire and immediately ran back into the gateway. “Starting the persecution. I hope Peridot has more fun there.”

And she jumps down too.

***

Lapis checks her phone, although knowing it is too early. 5XG promised to write to her in the afternoon, and it was only ten in the morning. In all the news, they already wrote about the club’s night fire, and about how 5XG several times rushed into the burning building to check if everyone had left. Thoughts about this make Lapis incredibly worried. Is everything good with her? Usually she arranges short lives or makes stories in instagramm, but this didn’t happen this night. And although the news said that after the arrival of firefighters and an ambulance, 5XG left on a bike, Lapis's heart is not in place. Not at the right time, considering that today she is in the mood for a serious conversation with Peridot, if she, of course, shows up.

“Take your phone away and think about the questions you want to ask,” Aquamarine almost growls when they go to the audience. “5XG will not save you from a failure in conversation.”

“I already know what I want to ask.”

Lapis lies indecently. She has no idea.

“Well, great, because Peridot is here today.”

Aquamarine nods toward Peridot sitting on the front desk. More precisely, lying on a backpack that lies on the desk. Lapis sighs.

“Yes, yes. After class.”

She checks her phone for several times after that and tries to sketch out at least some plan on a piece of paper. Aquamarine pretends not to notice her attempt. She already pushed her enough to write a list of questions.

After an incredibly long hour and twenty minutes, Lapis tears a sheet of paper out of a notebook and wrinkles it. Nothing came to mind.

“Don’t worry so much...”Aquamarine pushes her to the front desks. “It's not 5XG, in a conversation with whom you stutter and mutter. This is Peridot, you have known her for a long time.”

“I do not stutter!” Lapis barks, and suddenly realizes that she is standing next to Peridot.

Peridot looks sleepy, and for some reason her left hand is in a cast, and not even the fingertips are visible.

“Oh gods, what happened?” Aquamarine asks with sincere pity in her voice.

Glancing at her hand, Peridot grins wryly.

“My neighbor’s pitbull wanted to know how I taste like. Almost bit off my hand. I had to spend the whole day in the hospital. They said it would take a some time to heal.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. Are you right-handed or left-handed?..”

Peridot silently hands her a notebook with a written lecture.

“I'm ambidextrous.”

Aquamarine laughs, taking a notebook from her hand.

“I'll give back tomorrow. In the meantime, I have to go. See you after the break, Lapis.”

She leaves, leaving Peridot in confusion, and Lapis in mixed feelings of pity and irritation. Maybe this is not a good day, since Peridot is injured? But then the next chance won’t come soon, and...

“Lapis,” she hears and raises her eyes to Peridot. “I would like to talk to you. Let's go to the park nearby?”

“Yes, I... I also wanted to. Let's go.”

***

Behind the main building of the university there is a small park with a pond. Superstitious students throw coins in it before exams, and teachers joke about goldfishes probably living in there, from such an amount of coins every six months.

The day turned out to be windy but warm, and they silently wander alongside the pond until Peridot begins to speak.

“I... One thing bothers me, Lapis.”

She stops, turning to Lapis. Fear and sadness are seen in the sleepy green eyes under her glasses, and this begins to enrage Lapis even more.

_Those damn puppy eyes._

“I see that I am causing you... A bad reaction. And this is strange to me... I thought that you would be glad to see me again.”

“Ha!”

Lapis laughs involuntarily, but she tries to keep herself together.

“Glad to see you? After you disappeared so many years ago, ran away with your parents? Hah, wow... Seven years of silence, and “Lapis, hello, I want to be your friend again!”. Maybe your parents are now with mine, apologize for what they did?!”

Peridot's face reflects horror. She takes a step back.

“My _parents_?..”

Lapis clenches her hands into fists.

“Do not pretend that you don’t know how much money your parents took from my family to buy a house in a new place. This is what happened, only no one was going to return anything! And you, damn it, I believed you! And _only_ you! And you just disappeared with your parents. It was because of me, right? I was not good enough?!”

Peridot presses a healthy hand to her mouth. Tears are visible in the corners of her eyes. She takes another step back, and Lapis takes a step forward.

“So you don’t... know anything?.. What did your parents tell you?..” Peridot whispers.

“That your whole family has fled somewhere to Europe, Peridot. What can I not know? Is it not…”

Noticing tears on Peridot's cheeks, Lapis understands that she has gone too far, but doesn’t understand where she is wrong. This is what she believed in all these years, is there really another side of this situation?

“I have to go,” Peridot says and passes by. “We will finish this conversation later, but only if you ask your parents to tell you the _fucking_ truth.”

She walks away quickly, without turning around, suppressing the desire to burst into tears. Lapis sees everything completely wrong, she has completely different information, how could everything turn out that way?

Peridot runs around the corner, into the empty smoking room and angrily throws a cast in a trash can. She leans with her back against the wall, trying to restore breathing and bring emotions in order, put her voice in order.

If Lapis needs a good kick to finally find out the truth, 5XG will give it to her with great joy. With a touch of a button, her tear-stained eyes are closed with a helmet, her breath hiding behind cold black glass.

She looks at her left hand, uncovered with a suit to the elbow. Will this arouse suspicion? What's the difference now.

In a couple of big jumps, she finds herself behind Lapis, who remained to stand next to the pond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you probably hate me now for all this anticipation.   
> I know you want to know the truth and I promise it will be opened soon!   
> Just you wait, just you wait xD


	15. Chapter 15

Lapis doesn’t turn around to call Peridot, who has ran away in tears. She stands with her gaze on the ground and tries to put together at least some pieces of the puzzle that she has in her head, but the pieces do not match and the picture doesn’t look complete. Turns out that something is wrong, as if there’re not only not enough pieces of the puzzle, but there’re two packs of puzzles mixed together. As if someone got bored, mixed two boxes of puzzles and then lost a few pieces. Peridot looked as if Lapis had struck her in the heart. Lapis recalls that Peridot never knew how to lie properly. She could easily say that she fell from the stairs, but as soon as the interrogations began, she could not hide the truth for a long time. Almost immediately, she began to cry and admit that the boys in the class again offended her. And it always has been like that. Loud voice triggered a mechanism that allowed everyone find the truth. Lapis hated when this happened. She thought it was manipulation and abuse.

And now she did the same thing.

She rubs her temples and tries to compare all the facts she knows.

_Fact one: she and Peridot were friends. Close, best. They shared secrets and promises._

_Fact two: Peridot knew about moving away, and had long spoken about it, and promised to write and call._

_Fact three: two days after they left the city by car, her mother told Lapis that Peridot can’t be expected, and her whole family is now hiding somewhere in Europe._

_Fact four: Peridot never got in touch, and didn’t get real social medias under her name._

_The fifth and final fact: seven years later, Peridot transferres to the same university, and sincerely does not understand why Lapis is angry._

Lapis begins to seem that between the third and fifth fact, there are at least ten missing facts.

She turns around, intending to go and call her mother via video chat, and almost hits her nose on 5XG, who has successfully crept up behind her.

“Damn you ...” she mutters, taking a couple of steps back, but then she understands who is in front of her and shortens the distance again. “You... Why’re you here?..”

“I came to see you,” 5XG says hoarsely, hiding her left hand behind her back. “But I saw that you were talking to someone, and decided not to disturb. Although, I confess, I managed to catch a part of the conversation... Are you okay? That girl walked past me without even looking. My vanity was hurt a little.”

Lapis can’t hold back a slight smile.

“I... Yes, I’m okay. What’s with your voice? You are quieter than usual... And with your hand. Are you hiding something there?” Lapis tries to peek behind her, but 5XG manages to stop her.

“I damaged my voice change sensor,” she says, sniffing uncontrollably. “And inhaled too much smoke. Did you hear about yesterday’s fire? I was kinda hurt…”

She shows Lapis her hand, and Lapis steps back in surprise.

The bionic prosthesis, made of a distinctly special material and painted in gray-green reaches the elbow and ends with a costume. In the modern world, such parts of the body are not new, many people have such prostheses, and Lapis isn’t afraid of this.

“Y-you... did this happen yesterday?..”

5XG inexplicably tilts her head, and then laughs softly, shaking a bionic arm.

“Oh, of course not. It was a long time ago. But I lost a piece of my suit, and now it doesn’t cover my hand. A little empowered, but overall not deadly. I wanted to tell you about everything today.”

Lapis grunts, looking away.

“Todays is a freaking “surprise Lapis” day.”

_5XG ignores this phrase with great difficulty._

“Would you like to sit on the roof of your skyscraper? We can take a blanket from your apartment, and I will provide us access to the roof."

With a sigh, Lapis gives a tired smile.

“Of course.”

***

“Can I touch it?”

They sit on the roof, wrapped in a plaid and with a warm blanket under them. Lapis rests her back on 5XG’s chest, comfortably sitting between her knees. The wind stopped, the sunset is close, and they decide to sit until dark, then go down to Lapis’ apartment.

5XG nods and puts a bionic palm in Lapis' hands. Lapis looks at each finger with indescribable interest. She never noticed under the suit that something was wrong with her hand. She even felt warmth through her suit!

_It must have been a suit then._

“Ahem, I...” 5XG, calmed down a little, interlaces her fingers with Lapis’. “I wanted to tell you before, but I was carried away by other stuff, and yesterday I burned my arm and ass, so it makes no sense to hide.”

Before Lapis answers something, she puts forward her right hand. The suit begins to slide, revealing exactly the same thing.

“I’m like a... Cyborg, or something. No, wait, that’s a bad word, stupid, I would even say. Life just… wasn’t very kind for me. I have prostheses of both hands to the elbows. And…”

She stops, and Lapis sees the suit sliding down further, revealing the feet, knees and parts of the hips.

“... legs too. They are incredibly functional, I don’t think that anyone in the world has such functional prostheses. They are developed by my sister, specially for me. Well, this is our project, we are proud of it, although there is still much to be done, but this is not the point.”

She takes Lapis' hands in hers, slowly returning the costume to her feet, but leaving her hands open.

“Do you want to be with me knowing all this? Knowing this, but not knowing who I am. More precisely, what remained of the person under the rest of the suit.”

Lapis presses 5XG’s hands to her lips. The material is cool. And smooth. And the sensations from the touch do not repel at all. People on the Internet have long built a similar theory, and Lapis was one of those who believed in it from the very beginning. That 5XG may have some special parts of the body. But she didn’t think that… there’re so much. How badly has life treated her, and how strong a person should be, to survive that and want to help people after?

“You always know how to surprise ...” she says. “Now I would, like in the movies, say “of course” and kiss you, but...”

“... but I can’t remove even a part of the helmet now until I fix the sensor.”

“Yes. So I will limit myself to the first. Of course I want. But now I have even more questions…”

5XG hugs her, pulling her closer.

“I will answer everything. But now is your turn. What happened today and why did you make someone cry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know y'all hate me for anticipation.   
> I wanted to translate more chapters so you'd get more, but honestly I'm too tired from work ><   
> The next chapter will come out march 1, I hope   
> and yes, a reminder - I'm not narive English, so there're gonna be mistakes. My gf is gonna proofread this one day to fix everying xD   
> love you guys!   
> except you, Gaby. you're an ass xD 
> 
> P.S about Peri's hand. Google "yang xiao long hand". I kinda just took at idea from RWBY xD


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I promissed   
> Thanks again to everyone for nice comments!

“Wow...” 5XG murmurs as Lapis pauses, taking a sad sigh. “Soooo, your friend disappeared for seven years, and now she wants to make friends again, but you think she has no chance to regain her trust. Sounds sad.”

Lapis says a quiet “Yeah”, pressing her cheek against 5XG’s shoulder and feeling the cool material of the suit. She wants to stay in this position for a little while, hiding from the world in an embrace on the roof of a skyscraper.

“And you don’t know what happened to her because you didn’t find any information. Only what your parents told you.”

5XG speaks softly, holding back the urge to take off her helmet and tell everything. Everything she went through. But the situation isn’t the most suitable.

“I tried to find her on the Internet, but found nothing. As if she never existed. How is this possible?”

“Oh, believe me... If a person wants to disappear, they can do it... I can help you with the information you know. If you, of course, don’t mind. After all, I have a base with all people info in this city, it’s better than just the Internet.”

5XG taps a helmet with her finger, and Lapis pulls away to look... Presumably, in her eyes, although she sees only her own reflection.

“Can you find out what happened?..” she asks uncertainly. “If you can, then please. I need to find out the truth.”

“Okay. Peridot Greenwood, you say?.. Amethyst’s friend from the Pink Lion.”

Lapis nods, sitting a little further to see what 5XG is going to do.

“Peridot Greenwood,” 5XG says, launching a screen search inside the helmet. She has no idea what to tell Lapis. There is really no information about her on the Internet at all. When everything happened, Pearl decided to erase everything she could reach, and Peridot said that this was really a good decision. Everyone who needed to know the truth learned everything in personal conversations. Including Lapis' parents. So why did they tell Lapis exactly that? A completely fictitious and strange story?

“There’s only a summary from the police archive. Dates coincide with her loss. And... Wow. I can’t show you the information, it isn’t legal even for me, but I can read it to you if you want.”

Lapis hesitates, but remembers Peridot's eyes, without even a drop of a desire to lie. She absolutely sincerely wanted to know how Lapis was doing, and she wanted to make friends again. And the missing piece of the puzzle, which will make the picture complete, is right in front of her now.

“Please, read it.”

5XG looks at the text on the screen, at the photographs taken that day, at the meager, cold protocol written by someone who wrote several hundred of them. She already read it once. Back then, and even now, she shivers from this text.

“I won’t read everything, there’s too many official phrases. Only the most important. So... August 17. Highway accident, forty-six kilometers from Empire City. A car with a trailer was carried out into the oncoming lane, where it collided with a lorry. The car was turned over several times, after which it was thrown out of the road. No other cars involved. An ambulance stated that the lorry driver received a mild concussion. The driver of the passenger car, as well as the woman on the front seat, died on spot. The only passenger, a child, was hospitalized in critical condition. Documents of James Greenwood, Emerald Greenwood and... Peridot Greenwood were found at the scene of the accident. According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was a malfunction of a passenger car.”

5XG stops, feeling a lump in her throat again. There was wonderful weather that day. They were about to get to Empire City in less than an hour. They listened to the radio and planned what to cook for dinner. She couldn’t wait to connect to the Wi-Fi and wrote to Lapis that she had successfully reached new home. Then, the car drove to the side, and father turned the steering wheel to return to his lane. But the car didn’t listen, as if the steering wheel was a children's toy glued to the panel.

She looks at her hand, which is not covered with a suit. Without Pearl’s help…

“Is that... is that true?..”

5XG looks up at Lapis. There are tears on her cheeks.

“This is a protocol from the scene. I don’t think they will write a lie there. Your parents... Could not NOT know that this happened. Someone had to contact them. Why did they tell you something completely different... I don’t know. Apparently, your friend had a very difficult time. The car in the photograph in the report hardly resembles a car in general. It’s a miracle that she survived such an accident.”

She speaks softly, trying to sound as neutral as possible. This didn’t happen to her. Now she is 5XG, a formidable enemy of criminals and a savior of lives. 5XG, not the girl that seven years ago was left without the opportunity to feel the world through a touch. Without the ability to get out of bed and pick up the phone. Without the opportunity to hug her parents.

“But why didn’t she tell me anything...” Lapis sniffs and tries to wipe away the tears. “Why… she stayed alive, she should have contacted me... Why...”

“Lapis,” 5XG says softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “When such terrible things happen, people do not always remain what they were before. Try to understand her. You do not know how she felt. And in what condition she was. Maybe she just didn't want to bother you. Perhaps she wanted to tell later. But in the end, she didn’t dare. And then she saw you at the university, and thought - here it is, a chance, a sign of fate. Perhaps it wasn’t like that. The main thing is… your friend is alive, and she still wants to be with you. Give her a chance. She’s in love with you from kindergarten.”

“And how do you know that?..” Lapis asks, wiping her tears with her sleeve, and 5XG bites her tongue.

 _Shit_.

“... Amethyst told me when I went in and came across Peridot. Just the day you met her.”

Lapis weakly raises the corners of her lips.

“Won't you be jealous if we make friends again?”

“Will there be a reason?”

“I don’t think so... She is not the type of girls I like.”

5XG feels like Lapis just punched her in the guts.

“And what type do you like? What if I look exactly the same under my helmet. Will you be disappointed?”

Lapis rises to her feet, wiping the remnants of tears. The sun begins to set, and the view from the skyscraper is beautiful. Her soul feels a little lighter. Peridot didn’t leave her because she simply ran away with her parents. The reason was much more serious, and she is going to find out. But first, she is going to find out the reason why her parents gave her such hatred. Unnecessary, which now left a completely disgusting sediment.

“Well, in that case, I will have to get used to it,” she says, and 5XG smiles to herself. “Let’s go back. I need to call home.”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A piece of truth!   
> Poor Peridot, holy shit


	17. Chapter 17

“Well, I should probably go?”

5XG stands on the doorstep, behind the still closed door to hide from neighbors. She turned off all the cameras installed in the house a long time ago, but kept it a secret from Lapis.

Lapis sighs and looks at her apartment, bathed in the orange light of sunset. She is afraid of the thought that in an hour or two she will be left alone with herself and the truth. Whatever this truth is, it scares.

“Maybe... you can stay?”

She takes 5XG’s hand, the one that is not covered by a suit, and this gesture makes 5XG’s heart skip a beat. Lapis really doesn't care about her limbs, huh.

“I still have a lot of questions, and, plus... I don’t want to be alone. If you need to be on duty or somewhere else, I will understand...”

5XG gently squeezes bionic fingers. To stay and hear the truth herself, she couldn’t even ask for such a thing, but now fate gives her a chance to find out how she deserved such hatred.

“If there will be an urgent call, I will, of course, go. But while everything is calm... I will stay with you.”

Lapis smiles gratefully and leads her into the room. 5XG already was here once, but never really paid attention at the interior. A huge window, a large bed right next to it, a soft carpet on the floor. Aquarium with tropical fish in the wall. Cupboard, computer desk with tablet and laptop. Mirror. There are no paintings and drawings on the walls, as it was when Lapis was just starting to draw. 5XG remembers how Lapis hung every picture on the wall and was incredibly proud of it, and a sad thought creeps into her head, because for some reason she stopped doing that.

Lapis takes the laptop from the table and they sit on the bed, on the soft blanket. The laptop is between them, 5XG on the other side of the screen.

“I won’t interfere. Will sit here quietly as your moral support. Okay?

“Okay...” Lapis says heavily. The video chat icon is green, indicating that her mother is at the computer. And when she’s at her computer, she’s most likely just looking at something, and it’s quite possible to distract her for the conversation. “Okay…”

Reluctantly, she clicks on the "call" button, and a quiet female voice breaks the silence of the room after a few seconds.

“Lapis? Hi dear. You don't call often, did something happen?”

5XG recognizes this voice. Diana Lazuli. A woman who always seemed rather cold and detached, but still a good mother. Lapis never complained about her parents, on the contrary, boasted to everyone that they encourage any of her hobbies.

“Hi, Mom...” Lapis says. “Nothing happened... Well, in a way, happened. Where is Dad?”

“Oh, he's away,” a sad answer follows. “You know how easily he can leave for work. Just yesterday morning he had no idea that he would have to fly to Europe in the evening. Must be back in a couple of days! What happened? Lapis, you know I do not like when you say it like that...

“I'm fine, Mom. I’m not calling because something happened to me.”

“And with whom then...”

“Mom,” Lapis raises her voice slightly. “Let me finish. I have a very serious question for you, please do not interrupt me until I ask it. Greenwood family. You have been friends since the birth of Peridot. Many years. What happened to them?”

Silence reigns and only the hissing of the laptop speakers is heard. The woman on the screen seems to freeze, and it seems that the video chat is frozen.

“Oh...” 5XG finally hears. “I told you back then, Lapis. They left to Europe...”

“Mom ...” Lapis almost barks, clutching a blanket in her hands. Now, now she sees _uncertainty_ on her mother’s face. She doesn’t speak as confidently as she did years ago. “I found out the truth, and now I just want to find out why you lied to me all this time.”

“What truth, Lapis?..”

_"ABOUT THAT FREAKING CAR ACCIDENT!”_

Lapis growls, punching her hand on the bed a centimeter away from the laptop. 5XG is sure that such a punch would have broken the keyboard.

“About the fact that they didn’t run away with OUR MONEY, but _DIED_ on their way to Empire City! THIS TRUTH!”

“Oh... who told you?..” Diana Lazuli says quietly. 5XG doesn’t see her, but for some reason imagines her sad. She always looked as if she had just cried.

Lapis takes a quick look at 5XG.

“It doesn't matter. It doesn’t matter who told me. I want to hear the truth from you. Please, Mom. I am no longer a child."

Diana Lazuli sighs and is silent for some time, but Lapis persistently waits, leaving her no chance to retreat.

“Alright. Lapis, there really was an accident. A terrible accident. There was a report on TV, but you weren’t at home to see it. They didn’t say who was in the car, but a few hours later a girl called and introduced herself as Pearl Crane. You must remember Peridot’s sister... She left to live on her own when you were ten years old. She called and said... That James and Emerald died on spot, and Peridot was hospitalized, but the chances of her surviving are extremely small. She called because she knew that James and Emerald had borrowed a large amount of money from us, and assured us that she would return everything when she settles the problems with the insurance company and so on. We... Your father and I told her to keep the money, and spend it to saying goodbye to her parents, and if it works out, if Peridot has any chance of surviving, then... But judging by her voice, there was no hope at all.”

“But why did you tell me something completely different...” Lapis hisses through gritted teeth. "Why did you lie..."

“Lapis, honey...” 5XG hears tears in Diana’s voice. “Peridot was your best friend. We didn’t know how you would react to such news... You were fourteen, children at this age do crazy stupid things because of emotions. We were afraid that you... You could do something to yourself. We waited for some time, we thought that you would find out the information yourself... But, when you sincerely asked why Peridot didn’t get in touch, we simply couldn’t tell you the truth. Accepting loss is much more difficult than finding out the betrayal. We panicked, and that was the only idea that came at that time. You didn’t believe us, remember? But then you didn’t find any information. We didn’t find it either. This hatred died over the years, you no longer remembered her. If we said that she was gone, you would have suffered more. We just wanted to protect you from the feeling of loss. Hatred fills your heart, overflows with feelings. Bad, but feelings. Loss is not comparable to anything. Its emptiness can’t ever be filled with anything. We just...”

“Mom...” Lapis interrupts her again, and 5XG sees tears again. Well, she herself sits quietly, doing her best not to sob. They simply didn’t want Lapis to suffer. It's funny, because she didn’t say anything to Lapis because of that too. If Lapis didn’t get in touch, knowing that she was alive, then she simply didn’t need her, she thought. Didn’t need her broken and pathetic. But, it turns out, everything was completely different from what she thought. Her parents thought that she would not survive, so they inspired Lapis with hatred so that she wouldn’t experience the pain of loss. And they knew it would work. If Lapis hated someone or something, then she did it with all her heart. That’s why she looked at her with such angry eyes when they met. The puzzle was solved. Well, almost...

“Mom. Peridot survived. She is alive, and she goes to the same university with me, and I almost freaking punched her when she said “hello”.”

5XG twitches in surprise. This is something new.

“H-how?.. Is that true? Is Peridot alive?”

 _“Oh hell...”_ 5XG thinks. It took more than a month for her to wake up and return an ability to talk. Pearl has already erased all the data by that time. And then, realizing what her situation was, she asked Pearl not to call the Lazulis again. They had her number, they could call to ask what the situation is.

But they did not call. They immediately decided that she would die. 5XG doesn’t blame them. No one believed that she would open her eyes. Predictions promised the state of an internal coma. Pearl was the only one who believed that she would wake up and be fine. In the end, it was impossible to call it “fine”, but Pearl managed to turn her from a disabled person, who couldn’t get out of bed, into a full-fledged person, and then into a hero. It took many years, an incredible amount of sleepless nights, shed tears and sisterly love. Well, and money. Part of the money that Lazuli family left for the funeral went to the development of prostheses.

“Yes, Mom. She's alive. She wanted, and still wants us to make friends again, and I continued to refuse until I yelled at her and made her cry. God... ” Lapis sighs, and 5XG is relieved to see a smile on her face. Weak but happy smile. “If I thought she was dead, I’d had a stroke. She was always strong inside, despite being such a crybaby. It helped her survive, I guess.”

“But why didn’t she contact you?.. Didn’t tell what happened?..”

Lapis shrugs.

“I have the same question. I have to find it out before I tell her that I am very glad, in fact, to see her. Damn, I knew, I knew that Peridot just can’t betray me so easily. I felt it. She was always too kind to me to break my heart. I’ll talk to her tomorrow if, of course, she wants to see me after I yelled at her.”

“Oh, honey ...” Diana sniffs. “Of course she wants to see you. Forgive me and your father, we had to call Pearl through time... We had no idea...”

“It's alright, Mom. Thank you for telling the truth. I feel better. Much better. I'll go, okay? I need to... Realize some stuff. I'll keep you updated, okay?”

“Of course, dear. I will wait for the call. Have a good night.”

Lapis closes the laptop and sighs heavily, looking at the ceiling. It’s already twilight outside. Too many tears and facts in one day. There is only one piece of the puzzle left. Last. Which will make picture whole.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she whispers, moving closer to 5XG and resting her forehead on her shoulder. “I don’t know how to sleep now. It’s just… So much.”

5XG strokes her back, and, at the touch of a button, removes the bottom part of her helmet, kissing the top of Lapis’ head.

“I will stay here until you feel better.”

Lapis pulls away, looking surprised.

“You said that you damaged the voice change sensor and you can’t take off any part of the helmet?..”

 _Heck_ …

“While you were talking, I was busy reconfiguring it. I have a whole computer here, don’t forget it. I just rewrote the code and it came back to normal.”

“Now you sound like you were crying here with me...” Lapis smiles, moving closer.

“Maybe just one tear. It was touching.”

She reaches out to kiss her, but realizes how uncomfortable it will be in a helmet.

“I think you don’t want to see my face after everything experienced today,” 5XG grins, ruffling Lapis' hair, and Lapis sighs tiredly.

“Too much in one day. I will be glad to see your face any other time. I never thought I'd say that.”

“That's good. Reconnect with this friend, and I will think about it. Now, can you promise not to open your eyes again? I really want to kiss you.”

Lapis closes her eyes, placing her hands on 5XG’s shoulders. A cozy evening in the arms of the person she loves is exactly what she needs after such a day.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff ahead  
> and yea  
> THE TRUTH   
> you can think that Lapis' parents did a bad thing but well   
> maybe but I still think that hating someone is "easier" than loosing them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a delay ><   
> Wasn't feeling very good these days

“So, your suit can generate heat?”

They are lying on the bed; Lapis faces the room, holding 5XG’s palm in one hand, placing her other hand under her head. She promised not to turn around, and 5XG calmly lies next to her, taking off her helmet and resting her forehead on Lapis’ back, putting her palm without a suit in Lapis’ hands.

If Lapis turns around, she finds out the truth. But today, there is too much of this truth, and they both decide to extend the moment of mystery and secrecy a little more, just a bit.

Peridot closes her eyes and nuzzles Lapis' back. A rare moment of calm and peace, so rare in her life.

“Yes, I can regulate its temperature. But, I only do this when I need to contact people. Not everyone likes when something cold touches them.”

“So when I take your hand...”

“...I set the temperature a little higher. The illusion of a real touch, heh.”

Lapis brings Peridot's palm to her eyes, examining the bionic fingers. _The illusion of a touch._

“Can you... Feel the touch?”

Peridot makes a sad laugh, and immediately regrets it. It sounded like she was about to cry. There were too many tears today already.

“I feel it. Not as good as before, but the sensors on my fingers and palms allow me to sense the world. They are only there, but I’ve been with such hands for so long that the imagination completes my feelings. If you take me by the wrist, I will feel it, remembering how it felt in the past. Probably, if I hadn’t been able to feel the touch, I would get insane a long time ago.”

“In the past?” Lapis puts Peridot’s cool palm to her cheek, incredibly glad that 5XG can feel it. “So...”

“Yes, I had normal arms and legs. Well, you know. Human ones. And then my world collapsed and I had to rebuild it again, but I will tell you about this later.”

Peridot gently takes her hand from Lapis, putting both hands on Lapis’ waist, snuggling closer. The topic of feeling has always been very painful for her. There was no such technology when the accident happened. Peridot recalls how scared she was when she saw how she took a mug of tea, but didn’t feel its shape and warmth. How she touched her face, and all that she felt were cold metal fingers. She recalls how she burst into tears when Pearl proudly showed her new developments, and for the first time in years, taking a can of cola from the refrigerator she felt the cold at her fingertips.

“Tell me when you feel it’s time,” Lapis says warmly, settling more comfortably. “Ah... Do you go out somewhere without a suit and helmet? Take a walk with friends, or go to the store? Or somewhere else?”

Peridot laughs, tickling Lapis with her breath.

“Well, I spend most of the time in the city and in a suit, but I also have days off.”

“Then... Do you wear gloves? Or don’t hide your hands?”

“I have special cyberskin gloves. Honestly, I hate them. They dull my sensations even more. I'm even glad that I burned one along with a piece of my suit. I forgot to take it off that night, and it just burned to hell. The suit is a loss, the glove is not. And well, yes. I wear them when I need to go out to the city or the university...”

“University?..”

Lapis twitches, and Peridot squeezes her arms more tightly, afraid that she will turn around. Another thing that she regrets saying now.

“Yes. Sometimes I go listen to lectures about... physics. Not in your university.”

Yawning, Lapis smiles sleepily.

“Otherwise, I would definitely find you?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t.”

“Why so?”

“Because...” Peridot decides to give her a small detail that won’t lead to truth, but will make her think. “When I go out without a suit, I get shorter. And when I need to be a tough hero, I pull out my leg prostheses. Well, and arms. Just a little bit. Therefore, people sometimes tell that I look like an alien - my limbs are long and my helmet is round.”

“Is it something like a “compact mod”?” Lapis squeaks, imagining a smaller version of 5XG.

“Something like that.”

They talk for some time more, until Peridot realizes that Lapis, tired of a hard day, has already fallen asleep. Cautiously, so as not to wake her up, she gets out of bed, returning the helmet to her head and checking if everything is okay and if there are any notifications and thousands of missed calls. But the city is quiet.

5XG goes out the door, quietly locking it. Tomorrow they will have another conversation. No masks.

Tomorrow everything should be better.


	19. Chapter 19

“They WHAT!?”

Peridot wrinkles her nose, taking a step back. Pearl often raises her voice, especially when she stumbles over something that should not be on the floor, and each time Peridot wants to plug her ears or invent a remote control that will allow her sister to be quieter or mute her completely. And when Pearl starts to get angry and talk incessantly, she wants to shoot herself.

“I knew I shouldn’t tell you...” Peridot sighs, falling on the sofa and lying on her back. She changed into her home shorts and a T-shirt, and a casual guest would have definitely perceived her as a cyborg who came out from the sheets of a comic book. At first, she could not force herself to even look at her own reflection in the mirror, because the appearance of prostheses instead of limbs reminded her of what had happened, but over time, she was able to convince herself that now this is the norm, and she has to live with it. “I just couldn’t resist. Don’t shout, please, I had a hard day...”

“I can’t believe it, they just agreed that you were dead! How could they even...”

Pearl clenches and unclenches her fists, as if preparing to hit an invisible enemy directly in the jaw. Peridot pointedly plugs her ears.

“Oh, how I want to call them and say everything I think!”

“Hey!” Peridot raises her hand in the air and threatens with her index finger. “Do not! Seriously, so much crap has already happened today, don't add any fuel to the fire. I’m just sharing with you, but I don’t ask you to go beat their faces. It is my job to beat faces. Your job is to be the brain of the team and give me advice about what the fuck should I do next.”

“Next? Depends of what ending of the story you want to achieve…” Pearl relaxes her hands, returning to her desk, where among the drawings and numerous screwdrivers an exact copy of Peridot's right hand lies, not painted green yet. Pearl has been working on it for some time; it will hardly differ from the prosthesis that Peridot uses now, but, according to Pearl, it is always good to have a “reserve”. “I am glad that you are trying to establish your personal life, but I must remind you...”

“...to be careful, I know, I know. Okay, asking you for advice about personal life was stupid. How do you know how people communicate with each other when you don’t go out to the sunlight, sitting here like a vampire in her cave...”

Peridot laughs, catching a screwdriver thrown at her.

“Continue talking to me like that, and I’ll definitely put some kind of sensor in your new hand that will hit you with electricity at the touch of a button.”

“Oh have mercy.”

“And I’ll give this button to Amethyst.”

“Okay okay, I apologize, your experience in relationships is worth composing legends and songs about it...”

Catching a second screwdriver, Peridot finally trails off. Pearl's words stuck in her head. Not about the sensor, which Pearl, of course, can easily arrange. Though Peridot is smart enough to quickly find it, pull it out and attach it to Amethyst’s suit.

What ending of this story does she want?

 _Date Lapis?_ She already does it.

 _Tell Lapis who she really is?_ Kinda.

 _Get an adequate response to this?_ Exactly.

And to reach such a finale, she needs a neat approach. She isn’t going to talk about 5XG at the very moment she will establish relations with Lapis outside her mask. Peridot smiles to herself, turning a screwdriver in her hands. If everything goes as she wants, she will not have to tell anything at all.

“I think I have a plan.”

“That's good,” Pearl mutters, setting up the lamp and the perfect light for her job. “Return the screwdrivers, I need them.”

“Magic word?”

“Now.”

***

“How was the conversation?”

Lapis sends Aquamarine the " _why did you ask_ " look, but of course no reaction follows. Aquamarine innocently smiles, propping her cheek with her palm. The lecture has not yet begun, but they came earlier, and there are only a couple of people in the audience.

“Consider that it hasn’t happen yet. Yesterday I... Blew it, today I want to apologize. Turned out that everything is much more complicated than I thought.”

“Oh?..” curiosity splashes in Aquamarine’s eyes, but, thank god, Aquamarine can restrain herself. “Judging by your face, you won’t tell me because it’s too personal.”

“Rather confusing. And personal. No, I won’t tell you.”

“I will not insist. So when do you plan another try?”

Lapis looks at her watch. The day doesn’t promise much free time, and a lunch break will have to be spent at homework. She simply didn't have time fot it yesterday.

“After classes. I hope Peridot is not going anywhere.”

“Oh, she will surely go somewhere to party right after the last lecture. She certainly does not look like a person who sits at home and studies for days.”

“Wow, that was rude.”

“Not as rude as I can be. Speaking of Peridot, it seems she, too, decided to come early.”

Aquamarine nods to the front desks, and Lapis notices disheveled blond hair and a familiar backpack with aliens. Her hand is still in a cast, and Lapis feels a sting in her heart - Peridot was not feeling well, and she hurt her even more.

Having gathered all her courage, she goes to the front rows of the desks. Peridot immediately notices her and takes a couple of steps forward, but remembers in time that she is not wearing a helmet and that she can’t look unjustifiably happy. 5XG should be happy with Lapis, but Peridot should look offended after yesterday's incident. She somehow makes the corners of her lips go down to look at least neutral, and not in anticipation of something.

“L-lapis?..” she mutters. “You…”

“Peridot, we need to talk. Not like yesterday. I'm... I'm sorry I snapped. I didn’t know the whole truth,” Lapis squeezes the sleeve of her shirt, looking anywhere, but not in Peridot's eyes. “I talked with my mother, and... Ugh, you and I need to discuss a lot of things... Many years have passed, we need to somehow... Make up for the time that we spent separately. If you, of course, do not mind...”

Lapis looks up and smiles, and this is the first real smile that Peridot sees addressed to herself, not to superhero in a cool helmet. Lapis smiles warmly at _her_ , Peridot Greenwood, as she smiled before when they had slumber parties watching TV shows and stupid films.

“I will be very glad,” Peridot answers, and Lapis sees tears glistening behind her glasses, in the corners of her eyes.

“Then see you in the library after the lectures, okay? I'll be busy all day, so...”

“In the library. Got it. Good.” Peridot nods, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her healthy hand. “I will wait.”

Lapis returns to her sit and the bell rings immediately, the teacher comes and the day begins, lectures and seminars begin, running from one building to another, endless jokes from Aquamarine and counting the minutes to the end of the last class. Lapis notes that she is really looking forward to this conversation. As if these seven years of anger and hatred never happened, as if Peridot just had returned from the trip and they need to tell each other what happened during their separation. She wants Peridot to feel the same way.

***

Peridot is waiting for her in the library, over and over again trying to read a potentially interesting book, but her thoughts are not about that, and she reads the same sentence three times. Lapis should appear in about ten minutes. Her last class is swimming, and it takes time to change and dry her hair, and...

Lapis appears three minutes later. Her wet hair is combed back, a sports bag is thrown over her shoulder, and bleach still smells from the uniform with the logo of their swimming club.

“Hi,” she says, taking off her bag and hanging it on a nearby chair. “I forgot that swimming was the last... I'm sorry you had to wait.”

From the realization that Lapis didn’t even dry her hair in order to come quickly, Peridot forgets the existence of words and sentences. All she can do is smile stupidly and adjust her glasses. Lapis, in turn, understands that she hasn’t come up with any plan, but there’s no way back now.

“So... You didn’t disappear because your parents decided to run away in Europe, right?..”

She asks the main question right away, without even sitting beside her, and seeing how Peridot’s facial expression has changed, she regrets that she didn’t start with something simpler. Peridot still smiles, but her eyes show how painful this topic is.

“Since you already know the truth, it makes no sense to conceal something...” she sighs, closing the book and pushing it away. “We crashed before reaching Empire City. No one knew if I would survive. When I woke up and Pearl told me everything, I was ... I don’t even know how to say it. I didn’t want to live. It was a miracle that I survived, but my condition made me want to die every day. Your mother probably just told you that she didn’t know that I was alive... I don’t understand where the story of the “running away” came from, but... Now you know the truth.”

Lapis takes a deep breath. She didn’t expect such a direct answer. Finally sitting next to her, she looks at Peridot, who apparently decided to be extremely honest.

“Not the whole truth, Peridot. Mom told me everything she knew, but only you can tell the whole truth. Why... Why didn’t you say about everything before? Why did you have to wait so much time to appear again?..”

Despite the fact that Peridot tried to figure out what to answer all day, when the question was asked, all prepared answers evaporated.

“When...” she begins, turning to Lapis. “When all this happened... You wouldn’t want to see me in the condition I found myself in. I was gathered piece by piece, Lapis, no one believed that I could ever get up or hold a spoon. I was a helpless body on the bed. When I thought about you, and about how I want to see you, I immediately thought about how you wouldn’t want to see me like that. I was scared at the mere thought that you would see me. I was scared to think that maybe you won’t need me. Pearl spent days and nights with me, but we are family, we have no one else, and you... You had your own life. Dreams, desires, and I didn’t want the helpless bag of broken bones to bother you. So I decided not to tell you. Pearl said she gave your parents our number, and that they know about my condition... Apparently, they had some other plan, since they told you something completely different. When after months I still didn’t hear anything from you, I decided that you made your choice... After a year, my condition improved, I gained some independence, but... It seemed to me that everything was already in the past. That breaking into your life, knowing that you don’t want this, is wrong, so... I tried to live on.”

In the silence of the library, in which there’re only they and the elderly librarian at the table near the exit, the ticking of the wall clock and the rustling of branches outside the window are heard. They look at each other, and there’re everything in this look: sadness, resentment, joy. Lapis understands that with the next phrase she will say, all those emotions she wanted to express all this time they were apart, will come out.

“But why now?..” she whispers, struggling to hold back the tears that she thought were gone after yesterday. “Why, after so many years, did you decide...”

Peridot grunts, and the subsequent expression on her face returns Lapis back to her childhood, to the many moments when Peridot made excuses for something that was not her fault. When she wanted the best, but it turned out badly, and she was sorry, but her motives were always for the sake of something good.

Lapis recalls that Peridot had exactly the same guilty smile when she brought her several flowers and said that she could not resist and if their neighbor finds out that she took them, she’ll be punished.

She had the same smile when Lapis failed the test because she had not slept all night to help Peridot with another task.

This damn “I'm sorry it happened” smile that stayed with Peridot through all those terrible events that happened to her. Lapis is sure that if she knew what had happened, if she came to visit her, entering the hospital room she would see this very expression on her face.

“I... I couldn’t resist. I saw you in the city, I wanted to talk, but... I didn’t get the courage. At the same time, I was choosing where to transfer from the previous university, and I... I found your instagram and found out where you are studying. It sounds strange, but at first I just wanted to know at least something from your life. Just knowing that you were well was enough. Then I wanted to find out why it all happened that way, and... Then you know. It didn’t go as well as I thought.”

Lapis opens her mouth to say something else, but only gives a muffled sigh. The lump in her throat doesn’t let her to say something, and only when she sobs and feels tears roll down her cheeks, she manages to pronounce the phrase:

“I am so sorry.”

She covers her eyes with her hands.

“I'm so, so sorry.”

“Me too,” Peridot whispers. “Everything that happened... Just an absurd. I hope we can start over. To tell each other about everything we missed, to be... close again. If you are not against my return to your life.”

“I ...” Lapis sits down straight, abandoning futile attempts to get rid of the tears. “I can't ask for more. So... welcome back.”

***

The library closes at seven when the sky begins to change it’s color.

They go out a couple of minutes before closing time, only because the watchman threatened to lock them up there, and their tears have dried up, and the words do not end at all. Words that, it seems, will never be enough to make up for all those years that have passed by.

They follow different roads at the crossroads, and all Peridot wants to do is sit on her bike and rush along the highway with a joyful cry.

She actually does it when she gets to a deserted place to put on a suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a sucker for Pearl being a big tired sis for Peri.   
> This work is already done in my native language. I'll try to translate it in English asap, but idk when I'll have time.   
> I should say sorry but there won't be much pearl/amethyst. I thought i'll pay attention to them but apparently I couldn't.   
> How're you doing guys? We don't have any quarantine here, lolz.


	20. Chapter 20

“Will ya stop sleeping or I must shoot your fucking ass?!”

With a powerful blow of a whip, Puma sends one of the attackers into flight; 5XG, bouncing high, grabs his neck and crashes him on the ground. Not strong enough to break his back, but enough to send him to a long sleep. Several bullets fly by, and 5XG hides behind the bike with a sharp jerk, snatching a traumatic gun from a special compartment.

“You and I will be shot soon...” 5XG growls, seeing a report on the status of the suit on the display inside the helmet. “Where did they get such equipment?!”

She already faced similar opponents. These weren't ordinary criminals, which could be neutralized with a simple kick in the balls, they had elite body armor that protects the whole body, and the latest pistols, the bullets of which could pierce her suit and damage the prosthesis. And this type of “bad guys” appeared quite suddenly, each time setting the goal of not robbery: they needed her. Her suit, her information. 5XG knows that their actions with Puma have been coordinated with the authorities, and, no matter how the police hate them, they have no right to interfere with them, so these guys who want to shoot them are definitely making some unkind plans.

And although the police are extremely reluctant to share information, constantly referring to its absence (they are very offended by the presence of a certain “third party” in the city), they promised to give out information about this organization immediately.

“G-Squad is on its way to you, hold on for another fifteen minutes,” says Pearl's voice in the speakers of their helmets. “If possible, block their escape routes.”

“And how do we do this?!” Puma barks, trying to injure her suit as little as possible. “Although, wait a minute, I have an idea.”

In a couple of jumps, she finds herself near her bike (a brand new, purple bike), and takes out something from the trunk. Then, catching with a whip one of the attackers, and hiding behind him like behind the shield, she throws something on the roof of one of the minivans that blocked their road with 5XG when they returned to the city. After a few seconds, the car explodes, knocking nearby enemies in different directions.

“WHAT WAS IT?!”

Puma smiles triumphantly, letting go of her "human shield"; he falls on the ground like a bag of rocks. The built-in helmet sensor detects that everyone is still breathing, and Puma smiles even wider.

“Ask your sister. She made this and gave it to me so you would not find it. Well, she said that this thing is not finished yet, but, as for me, it works fine.”

“Peridot, did you build a bomb under my nose?!” Pearl's voice sounds so surprised that 5XG is seriously convinced that she could have arranged a nuclear power station in the basement, and her sister wouldn’t have noticed.

She spitefully peeks over her bike, regretting that Puma can’t see her angry gaze.

“It’s not a bomb, it is... In general, it shouldn’t have exploded so quickly and with such force. I plan to reduce this to the size of a lighter, and use it as a distraction. But, I admit, it worked perfectly...”

“Honestly, you...”

“God, Pearl, calm down. We don’t have time for that, a few more of these guys are still firing at my beautiful bike. Where is “move and we’ll kill you” squad"?

Pearl pauses for a few seconds, checking the information and giving 5XG time to catch her breath.

“Five minutes.”

Puma and 5XG make the synchronous "UHH".

Five minutes.

***

5XG crawls home by midnight, taking off the suit on the go. Somehow walking to the sofa, she sees the tools dumped on it and the inscription “go to sleep in your room!” glued on a sheet. On the one hand, a twinkle of teenage rebellion flashes in her, making her think about a sleep on the rug near the door, but on the other hand, waking up with body aches will be terrible. She sighs, tearing a sheet and crumpling it in her palm, and slowly goes to her room, which is actually not so far away.

She doesn’t turn on the light, but it isn’t necessary either: the walls decorates with fluorescent constellations illuminate enough to reach the bed. She falls on the blanket, not bothering to climb under it. The phone beeps exactly at the moment when she pulls it out to check what time it is.

_"I'm sorry to write so late! I saw the instastory, are you okay? "_

Peridot listens to her body. The left side aches, and tomorrow there will be a huge bruise.

_“Nah I'm still not sleeping. I'm fine. How was your day?"_

She wonders why Lapis didn’t write 5XG right away when she returned home. It seemed to her that she would immediately share her joy.

“I talked with a friend. I apologized. We have discussed a lot! I wanted to write to you about everything, but I thought I'd better tell you personally. Can we meet tomorrow?..”

Peridot sighs tiredly. Tomorrow evening she will have a long conversation with G-Squad. They promised to get information from the detained criminals.

_"I will only be free by midnight ..."_

_“I'll wait =)”_

_"Okay. Then I’ll come to tuck you in bed tomorrow night. Spend the day with Peridot, okay?”_

And before Lapis answers, Peridot types another message.

_"I hope you're not mad at her anymore?”_

_"No. I hope she’s not mad at me either. ”_

_"She’s not..."_

_"How do you know that? Amethyst again? =)"_

_“I wouldn’t be angry. And, yes, Amethyst said that she is very happy that you reconciled. So spend a day with her. See you tomorrow, Lapis. Love you."_

Peridot falls asleep with a phone in her hand.

At the other end of the city, Lapis cannot sleep until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter. I remeber writing it to make myself feel better. Translating it now made my day a little better.


	21. Chapter 21

Peridot enters the lecture hall 30 secs before seminar starts. She sits in the first empty seat, and, seeing her, Lapis feels happy inside. For some time, she thought she won’t come. Peridot's hand is still in cast, and a few seconds before the teacher comes in, Peridot turns and sends Lapis a happy smile. A sleepy, joyful smile, and Lapis wants to ask 5XG for a bat, and beat Peridot’s neighbor and his dog with it.

“You both look like you haven’t slept all night,” Aquamarine notes, smoothing Lapis' hair. Lapis fell asleep only in the morning, missed the alarm clock and ran into lecture hall ten minutes before the start of the class, completely forgetting to brush her hair and grab some necessary textbooks. “Where have you been?”

“Home,” Lapis sighs, lying on her arms crossed in front of her. “In my bed.”

“With whom?” Aquamarine smiles, and Lapis growls discontentedly.

“Unfortunately, just with my phone.”

“Chatting with this person in helmet again? Did she send you something that you couldn't sleep?”

Lapis makes a barely audible "yep."

“Wow, I didn’t think you two can be like that. I thought only teenagers send each other pictures of their...”

“Holy shit, shut up, I'm not talking about that...”

Lapis doesn’t raise her head, but Aquamarine clearly sees how she blushes to the tips of her ears. Teasing Lapis is priceless.

“She wrote “love you” at the end of the message. I couldn’t sleep after that.”

“And what did you answer?..”

“Nothing...”

“And you haven’t written anything to each other since?”

“No…”

Aquamarine sighs and suppresses the urge to hit Lapis with a notebook.

“Fucking kids. You’re so in love with her, you had to write “I love you too, come over, I live alone”...

“I'll strangle you now, and hide the body under my desk.”

“I'm serious, Lapis. If she already dropped the “L” word, there is no turning back.”

“L-word?”

“...don't make me quote Scott Pilgrim.”*

“I can't believe you watched this geek movie.”

“Said Lapis Lazuli, who looks like fucking Ramona Flowers*. Don’t be distracted. What will you do?”

Lapis turns to her. Her head in empty, but there’re butterflies in her stomach, and a damn storm of emotions in her heart.

“I’ll talk to her, what else can I do.”

Aquamarine encouragingly pats her on the shoulder.

“Well, that's good. What about Peridot?”

Lapis smiles, feeling the warmth spreading inside from the thought that they had reconciled.

“I want to call her for a walk today. Maybe she will help me too...”

“Oh, I feel like I'm being replaced...” Aquamarine rolls her eyes theatrically, putting her hand to her forehead. “First 5XG, now Peridot... You won’t need me soon...”

“And who will scoff at me and give me advices?” Lapis sneaks.

“Mhmm. Siri will.”

Teacher’s voice interrupts them. Turns out, the professor watched them all this time, deciding whom to ask about the homework, and to Lapis’ joy and gloating, Aquamarine is his choice. Fortunately, she successfully wrote off all Peridot’s lectures, so there is no point of feeling bad for her.

***

”Wanna go somewhere? Do you have time?”

Lapis awkwardly wrinkles a backpack strap, standing next to Peridot. Back in middle school days, she would just come up and announce that they’re going out for ice cream, and Peridot would gladly go with her. Now... That’s not so easy.

“I always have time for you,” Peridot smiles at her.

“There is a cafe with delicious ice cream nearby. Let's go?..”

Peridot nods, and Lapis exhales with relief. Not so scary, huh.

5XG didn’t write to her whole day, and Lapis doesn’t know where to start conversation. But, if she could ask Peridot for a walk, after all shit that had happened, starting a text conversation should be easier. It must be...

“Lapis?” Peridot waves a healthy hand in front of her face. “You there?”

“Ah...” Lapis smiles awkwardly at her, checking the time on her phone. Only four in the afternoon. “I will tell you later. Let's go get the ice cream, my treat.”

They practically don’t talk on the way to the cafe, but as soon as they sit at a table, Lapis can’t hold back the pressure of all those thoughts that bother her. She takes a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in hope to freeze half of all those annoying assumptions that swarm in her head, but in the end, she only freezes her brain, squinting and tapping her fingernail on the countertop. Peridot grunts, covering her mouth with a hand in cast.

“Easy there,” she laughs, eating her portion in small spoons.

“Ugh ...” Lapis grumbles. “Listen... Have mentioned that I know 5XG?.. Do you know her?..”

“Aren't you two dating?” Peridot asks directly, adjusting her glasses.

Lapis nearly drops a spoon, looking in a panic around the cafe. A few bored waiters at the checkout, but there’s nobody around their table.

“How do you know that ?!” She asks quietly, leaning closer to Peridot.

Peridot barely holds back a grin. She has to put a large spoon of pistachio ice cream in her mouth, to hold it back. Feeling a creeping painful cold, she says:

“Amethyst told me... 5XG shares everything with her, but she doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut...”

Lapis hides her face in her hands and recalls how 5XG told her about Peridot's feelings, which she also learned from Amethyst. Apparently, she really can’t keep secrets...

“Damn it... Wow, and you... What do you think about this?” She asks through her fingers.

“I know almost nothing about 5XG, except that she’s like... Saves people and rides a bike. If she is a good person, then I'm glad for you. The main thing is that she treats you well. Doesn’t she…?”

Peridot shakes her spoon from side to side, as if trying to figure out how to express herself.

“Well, you know ... She's so cool... You're cool too, I think you're a lot cooler than her, but I hope she doesn't have a whole fan club she dates in turns?..”

“Definitely not,” Lapis answers without hesitation, and Peridot feels incredible joy inside. Lapis trusts 5XG. It is great to realize. “I know that for sure. Yesterday she even... Uhh. This is exactly what I wanted to talk about.”

Throwing eyebrows up in genuine surprise, Peridot forgets about the existence of ice cream. Yesterday? Yesterday they barely had time to talk before bedtime. What is it?..

“Yesterday, telling me “good night”, she wrote “love you” at the end .. She never mentioned that she has such feelings for me, and I wonder... Peridot?”

Holding a healthy palm to her face, Peridot leans back in a chair, and Lapis notices a blush on her cheeks. Peridot really wants to get the phone and check: did she really write it? Really? She was so tired and sleepy that she could... But getting out the phone and checking it would be too suspicious.

“I-I'm sorry...” Peridot says, smiling wryly. “It's just very sweet, I didn’t expect you to tell about such a thing. You wonder about what?..”

Lapis clears her throat and continues a little quieter.

“I wonder how I should tell her that I feel the same way... Write in response? Say in person?..”

Peridot wants to bury herself in a glass of ice cream to cool her flaming face.

Lapis loves her? She knows that Lapis has a lot of feelings for 5XG, but to… Love?..

“It seems to me that one should speak about such things personally...” Peridot answers, trying to sound neutral. “Confess to her on a date. I think she often receives confession messages, but no one tells her this in person... By the way, did you see who she really is?..”

“No ...” Lapis says upset, sighing. “She said she couldn’t open up for me yet. For some reason. But I still... I feel for her something more than just sympathy. I don’t know how this works. I'm just really attached to her.”

“If she doesn’t reveal herself to you, it seems to me that there is some kind of trouble that bothers her... Or it frightens her. Otherwise, she would have already told you everything...” Peridot thoughtfully licks a spoon, propping her cheek with her hand.

Time to give Lapis a small, tiny clue.

“Perhaps you already know who she is, and so she is afraid to open up to you.”

“Do I know who she is?..” Lapis snorts. “Do you think this is the reason?” How can I know her?..”

“Our University is big, Lapis. Maybe she goes to the same Uni with us.”

“She said she goes to another one...”

“If she’d said that she goes to ours, you would start to suspect everyone. This is just my guess. But this usually happens in comics and films. If I were 5XG, and I knew you in everyday life, I wouldn’t immediately open up either. Oh-oh, what if 5XG is Aquamarine, that would be fun. Although, hey, no, Aquamarine is even shorter than me...”

Lapis grins, imagining Aquamarine in 5XG’s suit.

“No, Aquamarine loves herself too much to talk badly about herself. She would praise herself every second. Well and yes, she’s too short. 5XG said she gets a little lower when she takes off her suit. You can’t be her either, you are afraid of heights and you, well...” Lapis picks up words so that she doesn’t inadvertently sound rude. “It is unlikely that your health allows you jumping from roof to roof.”

“Eh, you got me here...” Peridot sighs painfully, spreading her hands. “I can't even swim. So, now you know my theory. She has a reason not to open up for you, and I bet that you simply already know her, and she is afraid that you won’t love her real personality. Well, either she is afraid that she is not your type. In any case, maybe after you confess to her, she will reveal to you something else about herself. So... Make an appointment. And…”

Looking away, Peridot awkwardly scratches her cheek, and barely audibly adds:

“...thanks for sharing this with me. I feel that everything is really as is was before.”

Lapis smiles affectionately at her, taking out her phone. Peridot is right. It’s time to make a move.

_“Hey. I need to tell you something. I hope you still have some time for me tonight."_

She puts the phone in her pocket and calls the waiter to pay. Peridot goes to the toilet and a whole incredibly long minute passes before the response from 5XG comes.

_“I always have time for you. See you tonight.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fucking swear this is not LadyBug and Lapis actually has a brain xDD  
> Also if you didn't get the L-word reference, watch this piece: https://youtu.be/233NaQ0l6cc?t=25  
> This is from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and this movie is awesome. Also you can google who Ramona is.


	22. Chapter 22

Seeing 5XG in her apartment is already so normal, but at the same time, Lapis again can’t keep an embarrassed smile. 5XG doesn’t go in the room until Lapis says “come in”, and this small detail seems incredibly sweet to her.

“You alright?”

The voice from under the helmet is tired and sleepy, and Lapis immediately turns on the coffee maker. Perhaps a cup of coffee will fix the situation.

“Yes, everything is fine. But it could have been better...”

Lapis chooses a mug for some time, but in fact, she just can't find the words. She can’t ask her directly why she still doesn’t trust her enough to take off her helmet, or at least turn off the voice changer, right? Is Peridot right and 5XG is afraid of something? But, again, she can’t ask for it directly so...

“You wrote that you want to tell me something...” says 5XG, and Lapis almost drops the chosen green mug with daisies. “Are you really alright?”

With a sigh, Lapis puts the mugs on the table. Silence and aroma of freshly brewed coffee hang in the air. 5XG removes the lower part of the helmet and brings the mug to her lips, and for some reason Lapis is sure that there, under the helmet, 5XG looks expectantly at her, trying to get the words for which she came here.

“You... You said that if I talk with Peridot, you will think about telling me who you are...” says Lapis. “So I... I thought I could ask you what you decided.”

5XG smiles slyly and reaches for the sugar bowl. Throwing two cubes into the mug, she takes a sip and licks her lips.

“You didn’t talk with her only because of that, I hope?..”

Lapis feels like she was doused with cold water.

“Wha... Of course not! I missed her, and I'm glad that she is there again... I told her about us, and she had thoughts that seemed to me... Reasonable.”

“For example?..”

“For example...” Lapis squeezes mug in her palms harder. “That you are not revealing to me because you are afraid of something.”

5XG hums a thoughtful “hmmm” and puts the mug aside. What she definitely doesn’t want is to simply take off her helmet and shock Lapis, and then explain and apologize for a long time. An ideal option would be if Lapis herself gradually realizes everything. This riddle will not be difficult to solve if you simply compare all the facts.

“And she's right. I really have a fear that when you find out who I am, you won’t feel for me what you usually feel.”

“Even if I'm absolutely certain that I love you?”

Oh. Here it is. The "l" word. Lapis speaks in all seriousness, looking eyes to... eyes, in fact, although she doesn’t know this. She never touched her coffee, and still holds the mug like it is a lifebuoy.

“Lapis...”

“Yes, I know what you will say,” she sighs, looking away. “That it may not be love-love, but love, as for a musician or an actor, or someone else, like a fan loves an idol, but I can tell you exactly and with confidence...”

“Lapis, wait-“

“...that this is not so, and whoever you are under your helmet, I can accept it...”

“Listen…”

“...but you don’t even turn off the voice changer when you talk to me!”

“If I turn it off, you will immediately understand who I am!”

5XG leans back in a chair, covering her mouth with her hand. She didn’t want to say this so directly, the words burst out by themselves, and she returns part of the helmet to its place, hiding behind it, as if it would somehow save her.

Lapis looks at her with wide eyes, and then grunts, finally picking up her mug of cool coffee.

“So Peridot was right...” she says. “We really know each other.”

5XG's face expresses fear; she bites her lip, clutching a mug tightly. What if she screwed up? What if she said something obvious? What if…

“And you are afraid that I won’t be able to love you again. Real you.”

Lapis' voice, by contrast, is confident. As if she had definitely decided that everything would be exactly as she intended.

“…Yes,” 5XG answers quietly. “True”.

Lapis takes a deep breath and exhales before giving 5XG wide and happy smile. 5XG doesn’t know how to respond to this smile. What the hell does that mean?

“You're not Jasper, are you?..” Lapis asks, and 5XG freezes for a few seconds. Jasper?..

“...no ...Who is he?..”5XG asks absolutely sincerely, terribly wanting to know the last name of this Jasper.

Lapis grins, taking another sip.

“She. My ex. We... Didn’t break up very well. I broke her nose. She almost broke my ribs. I know that you are not her. She had... Normal arms and legs.”

5XG feels a prick of jealousy and pride.

“I too, you know, have normal...”

“Yes, yes, I know, I'm sorry.”

Lapis jumps from her seat, and walks over to 5XG, taking her palms in her own. The suit is warm, but now Lapis knows that underneath there is nothing that can generate heat.

“I just meant... There are no people in the world whom I would hate. Whoever you are, I'm sure we will get along and I can fall in love again. So, please...” Lapis touches 5XG’s fingers with her lips. “Just open up to me...”

5XG doesn’t take her palms from her.

5XG leans her arm toward the helmet to flip it over, to flip away all the stupid secrets.

“We have an emergency, urgently go to the fifteenth sector,” is heard in the helmet, and 5XG freezes, listening to her sister’s voice. “There are hostages, and the criminals demand your presence. Peridot, for heaven’s sake, _please_...”

“I'll deal with it. Don’t worry. I'm heading out.”

Pearl's voice sounded like she’s on the verge of tears, and 5XG leaves the table, looking sadly at the unfinished mug of coffee. Perhaps today all secrets would be revealed. But she is needed somewhere else.

“I need to go,” she says, and puts both palms on Lapis’ cheeks. “I hope that next time, I will have the courage to tell you about everything. I need to go now.”

Lapis only nods, impulsively hugging her. Of course she needs to go. Someone is in danger somewhere. Of course 5XG has responsibilities.

“Come back, okay?..” she asks, nuzzling her shoulder.

“I will.”

5XG runs out of the apartment, leaving Lapis alone with her thoughts and conjectures.

_Who could she be?.._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I'm so sorry for the delay and for the ANOTHER cliffhanger. Please don't kill me. This fic is almost over. 3 more chapters.  
> Anyway, I hope you're all save and healthy.


	23. Chapter 23

“So that's why Pearl had such a voice...” 5XG thinks, looking at Steven, guilty smiling, sitting next to the masked armed bastard. They captured a store with video games, a store full of teens. What a fucking bullshit. Steven doesn’t look scared, he knows the rules of behavior in such situations, he will be able to help with panic when it begins. 5XG inhales deeply. She sincerely hates assignments with hostages.

 _“Help is on the way,”_ she hears in a helmet, _“buy us some time.”_

“I'll try...” she says quietly, raising her hands up and taking a step forward.

***

It all ends in an hour. Several wounded civilians, two dead criminals and a damn heavy tiredness, which forces 5XG to fall on her knees the second she realizes she can relax. The expression “so tired I can’t feel my legs” is not about her, but she can’t help herself, sitting down tiredly next to Steven, who already helped everyone and only now allowed the doctor to bandage his cuts from falling on the glass.

“How are you?” He asks, laying his hand on 5XG's shoulder. “I saw you got hit. Maybe you also need to see a doctor? Until the ambulance leave?”

5XG shakes her head. Usually, she would have jumped on the bike and disappeared before the place was filled with investigators, doctors and journalists, but today she feels too tired and overwhelmed, and all she wants to do is fall in bed, hug a pillow and fall asleep. Her body hurts, several bullets hit just below the neck, and it is possible that the collarbone is broken or cracked. Pearl will yell at her, then hug, and then yell again. Then she’ll Steven in bandages, and yell at him. And so on and so on.

“Steven...” 5XG sighs a few minutes later, somehow rising to her feet. “Tomorrow I may need a bucket of ice cream and the most sad movie with a happy ending from your collection. Can you arrange that?”

Steven shows his thumbs, smiling faintly.

“You're going to…”

“Yeah. Every time I get shot, I don’t know if the suit will save me. Someday, these bastards will invent something that destabilizes me and kills me. I don’t want to die before I tell someone about my feelings. It will suck, and Amethyst will write on my tombstone something like "here lies the most cowardly moron in history”."

5XG touches her helmet, checking for damage. The glass cracked right in front of her eyes. If it weren’t bulletproof, she would already be dead. Pearl will not bring her back from heaven with a bullet between her eyes. Unless only in the form of a cyborg without a soul. She also agrees to this, but cyborgs hardly know how to love and feel.

“Perhaps Lapis will no longer want to see me, I understand. Then I will come to you, and we can watch a movie. I even agree to see a restart of CPH... I don’t know what will hurt me more, heh.”

Steven rolls his eyes, remembering how they stopped in the middle, unable to bear the absurdity and frank unprofessionalism of the new season.

“Then you should leave, or the journalists will soon begin to interrogate you.”

“Ugh.”

A flock of vulture-journalists is already crowding behind the red ribbon of the fence. Camera flashes are already hella annoying.

“Alright, man, I’m out of here. Get home without any incidents, okay? I'll tell Pearl that you're fine.”

“Good luck to you.”

***

It is already three in the morning, when Lapis decides that it’s time to stop the brainstorming, because it leads her to an absolutely absurd outcome every time. This could not be, but at the same time it could not be otherwise.

All she had to do was just sit down and remember every past day. Every random phrase. Everything coincided to the smallest detail.

“But this is so obvious...” Lapis mutters under her breath, pushing aside a third mug of coffee. “It can't be so obvious... 5XG would be careful... If she wanted to... And if she didn't want to?..”

Her phone vibrates with the message, and Lapis shudders, trying to remember where it lies. At three in the morning only one person can write to her.

_"Hi. I'm fine. A few bruises, but I will live if my sister doesn’t decide to strangle me in my sleep for a broken helmet. Praise to bulletproof glass, otherwise I would also have a mechanical eye. Hahah."_

_“You sound like there's nothing serious about it.”_

_“I'm sorry, I don’t really know how to choose words when I’m tired. I am writing what is on my mind.”_

The last sentence prompts Lapis to try something that will either force her to look further for options, or assure her that she has already found the truth.

_“I hope you aren’t too injured. We have an important test on the first class tomorrow.”_

_"Yeah, I remember about it."_

It takes several seconds before Lapis puts down the phone, pressing her hands to her face and feeling a nervous smile creeping into her lips. Fuck.

Fuck.

_"Wait a minute"_

_"What test"_

_“I answered without thinking”_

_“Lapis”_

Fuck.

Is it really so.

_"We'll talk tomorrow. I think you have something to tell me. ”_

_“Okay... where should I come?”_

_"Audience 274."_

_"Lapis..."_

Lapis decides not to answer anymore.

Dates, gestures, habits, phrases... That's why it was so calm with 5XG. That is why it felt like they had known each other for many years. That's why 5XG was so afraid to raise at least some topics about her past.

Holy.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had some inspiration after your comments guys.   
> thanks a lot for reading this story


	24. Chapter 24

“Are you seriously, holy shit?”

Aquamarine can’t believe her eyes and ears, and Lapis has to repeat what was said again, glancing cautiously around, to make sure that no one else hears them. Fifteen minutes before the start of the class and the test, which she will definitely fail, because of thinking about something else. Peridot hasn’t come yet.

“Seriously. I double-checked everything.”

“ _Peridot_? Really? Do you really think?..”

Lapis shushes at her, hiding behind a book about the history of art.

“I think so. I just need to see Peridot. Once. I know how to test whether I am right or not. If not, then I will continue seaching.”

“And if she doesn’t come?..” Aquamarine props her cheek with her palm, looking at the empty front desks of the audience. No one in their mind will sit at the front desk during the monthly test. Peridot only, she’s smart, but Peridot is not here yet.

“She will come,” Lapis decisively says. “She wanted to tell me something, she was ready, but something happened in the city. She will not run away, she...”

“Lapis...” Aquamarine exhales noisily, showing with all her appearance how difficult it is for her to pick up decent words. “Even if your... Crazy theory will turn out to be true... How will you live with this? Knowing that...”

She doesn’t finish, seeing Lapis’ sad eyes. Probably, she won’t be able to handle the truth. Probably, everything will end today, and it will be impossible to see this happy-Lapis-in-love. Aquamarine feels sad: she loved _happy-Lapis-in-love_ more than _Lapis-deep-in-abusive-relationship._ Lapis' smile charged her with some good energy for the whole day, although it infuriated in the same proportion.

“Although,” Aquamarine smiles softly, touching Lapis with her palm. “You have nothing to lose, my friend. Peridot adores you. As if she loved you since childhood.”

Lapis shudders, sending Aquamarine the gaze of an abandoned puppy.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know about it.”

“I... They told me about this. I never noticed.”

“Ugh, Lapis... I don’t know Peridot for long, but honestly, if you break her heart, I will be mad. Because if you break her heart, she will stop going to lectures, and I won’t be able to borrow her conspectus. So, Lazuli, get your shit together and talk to her. When she comes, of course.”

Curving her lips in a faint smile, Lapis nods.

But Peridot doesn’t come to the class.

***

“Peri, being nervous is bad for your health. You’re kind of mad these days...”

“AMESTHIST, ANOTHER WORD, AND...”

This is followed by a wave of bad expressions, from which a normal person’s ears would have fallen off, but Amethyst is the one who taught her these words, so she doesn’t care. She sits in her saloon, closing it for "technical reasons", and looks at the fancy computer screen, seeing all the movements of 5XG and her enemies.

“Why do _you_ have the microphone, where is...”

“Hush, Peri, your dear sister is sleeping quietly in my room. For God's sake, let her sleep. I dragged her to my place, and she passed out instantly. How long can you two stay awake, you damn monsters?”

“Our record is four days...!”

“NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF, YOU IDIOTS!”

“Fuck that now, where should I drive?!”

Amethyst swears, looking at the map. At least five motorcycles ride behind 5XG, intending to drain and shoot her.

The "G" squad told them that it was “Homeword”. An organization that unites hunters for any profit around the world, mainly preferring rare technologies. They can only steal someone else's stuff and only improve it a little. 5XG’s suit is unique and has been their goal for a long time, but if earlier they tried to get it in a more secretive way, in recent weeks all their forces have been devoted to radical measures. Puma’s costume was a prototype, it doesn’t have special value for the Homeworld, although it is still an expensive new technology.

Pearl and Amethyst started this “last year university project” as good friends, and Amethyst once jokingly said that they can create a whole cyber-skeleton based on it. Pearl dismissed the idea, and exactly one year later the only blood relative person that she had was faced with the choice of life or death. Pearl chose life, as when she chose this or that way in games they played in their childhood. She was older, and she and Peridot shared one game-controller for two. She chose to "go into this tunnel." She chose to "go fight this monster." She chose “let’s play this game”, and Peridot always trusted her sister’s choice.

She chose the "don’t think about saving her limbs, save her life."

And when Peridot woke up from an almost two-month dream, the first thing she saw was her sister's face. It took Pearl weeks to convince Peridot that life was not over. That she still can live a good life, and she will do everything she can for this.

Amethyst also remembers all this, she came to visit Peridot with Pearl, to maintain their spirits and dilute the oppressive atmosphere prevailing in the room. And the old idea was remembered and fit perfectly, and the first prototypes and first results were ready in the first few months. Peridot was involved in the development as soon as she was discharged from hospital, and as soon as the clinic gave her basic prostheses so she could walk and make grasping movements. Amethyst with a smile recalls how she helped Peridot to tie a soldering iron to her “hand”, and how she made sure that she didn’t forget about it’s presence there and didn’t rub her eyes.

“I don’t advise you to drive home or here. If you want to break away from them, go to the fifth sector, there is a traffic jam on the main street. Their transport will not pass there, but you can on your bike. The main thing is to arrive there before the movement has completely stood up.”

“Are you suggesting to cause a bunch of accidents? They either kill themselves, what I don’t care about, or crash into someone who has nothing to do with it. I’ll better, ugh... I don’t know, I don’t want to go all over the city with them on my tail, I’d better go somewhere around the corner and kick their asses.”

“Be careful. I'll join you in an hour, let Pearl calmly sleep.”

A short “good” is heard in the headphones.

***

“I’m so sick of your team of useless fucking assholes…”

It’s usually not a problem for 5XG to beat a shit out of several street hooligans, but when these hooligans are well armed and can actually pierce the suit, it becomes completely not fun. 5XG spits out a blood clot, feeling a busted lip; she had to jump off the bike on the go, and although the helmet took the hit, it couldn’t have done without injuries. There were also a couple of stabs in the back, which now hurts between the shoulder blades, as if a piece of a knife is stuck there. Five unconscious bodies lie on the ground, all alive, although 5XG would like them to fall off their motorbikes and hurt themselves during the chase.

“5XG to G-squad,” she says, catching the right frequency in her helmet. “I request transport for the transportation of detainees. Five unconscious, an ambulance is needed too. The sooner the better, until I broke their bones.”

“Leave this to Ruby,” comes a soft, feminine voice. “She has a bad mood today, so I don’t envy them when they find themselves being interrogated by her. I'm sending a car.”

“I will handcuff them to the fire escape. There is no time to wait, I’m already late today because of them. I don’t think they will wake up before your arrival.”

“Okay.”

The idea of loading a dozen handcuffs into a bike was great, and 5XG is glad that she has just five left. Not worrying too much about what might hurt, she rudely pulls the attackers to the stairs, fastening them by wrists and checking that no one will be released without a key. The car should arrive in about ten minutes, but there really is no time to wait for it. She is already late for the test, but today there are only two classes, and there is a high probability of catching Lapis after they are finished.

5XG sighs, sitting down on her bike. If Lapis really guessed everything, maybe it is for the better. A few weeks next to her already brought a huge amount of joy and happiness. It should be enough for a long time before at least something good happens again.

***

“Look, there’s a note about 5XG made an hour ago…”

Aquamarine holds out her phone; on the city news portal, there’s a short note that 5XG was noticed on the streets of the city with a chase, and the mention that this is not for the first time and such cases have become more frequent in recent days. The people in the comments divided into two camps: some are unhappy that she drives too fast, and people can suffer from this, others wish their beloved hero to get rid of all enemies as soon as possible.

Lapis only grabs the strap of her bag more tightly. The test is over, the class after it is over too, she can go home, but...

“Maybe you can write to her, check if everything is okay?” Aquamarine picks up her phone back. “It was five against one... Anyway, I have to go. If you wait for her, keep me posted. A car is waiting for me, see you tomorrow.”

Nodding absently to her friend, Lapis opens the chat. No new messages.

_"Are you okay? I read the news."_

The answer comes in a couple of seconds.

_"Normal. The universe is testing me for strength. Yesterday I was nearly shot, today they wanted to kill me five at one. But I'm fine. I was going meet you. Where are you?”_

_“I need to look into the university gym. I left things there. It is being closed for repairs, I want to take my stuff. You can drive right there, it’s empty today.”_

_"Ok, I will be there soon."_

***

“Where are you now?”

Amethyst’s voice in the helmet makes 5XG float out of the ocean of heavy thoughts and focus on the road.

“The uni gym. Lapis is waiting there.”

“Ruby called me, she says, they all loaded. But there were four of them. One sneaked, leaving his team.”

5XG curls her lips in a grin and immediately grimaces. Busted lip hurts and burns unpleasantly.

“What to expect from cowards attacking five on one. We’ll catch him later.”

“Yeah. I’m doing business in about the same area as you, most likely we’ll meet. If she breaks your heart, I will fight her.”

“And then I will fight you.”

“We do this quite often. I’ll survive that.”

***

Hearing the noise of the motor, Lapis jumps from her place. 5XG drives near to the gym entrance, as if not caring at all that someone will notice her, and parks the bike next to the students' bicycles.

The costume looks perfect, just like yesterday, but Lapis can imagine how tired 5XG is now, and how she just wants to take a break from everything. Yesterday they shot her, today they nearly beat her, and... It's almost a routine for her. Every day she has to save someone or herself.

5XG is slouching, and doesn't look menacing. And if her theory is correct, then...

Lapis doesn’t even want to think about what kind of load a girl of fifteen years took upon herself, having lost everything except her will to live and the desire to do something for this world.

“Hi,” comes her mechanic voice. “How was… the test?..”

Lapis smiles faintly.

“Most likely, I failed. Couldn’t concentrate.”

5XG is silent, and this silence is burdensome. Usually, the silence next to 5XG is softer, Lapis thinks, and not so painful.

“Listen...” Lapis decides to take the first step, but can’t finish. 5XG suddenly takes a few quick steps towards her and stands in front, as if closing her from danger, but Lapis doesn’t see anyone and doesn’t understand anything until she hears a shot very close by.

“Fucking shit...” growls 5XG. “5XG to Puma, it seems the fifth freak tracked me down. I can’t fight him, he can hurt Lapis. How far are you?”

Lapis doesn’t hear Puma’s answer.

“Good. Follow my movements, he won’t give up so easily, and I won’t endanger Lapis. Go straight here and tear his hands off.”

“Is this one of these who chased you in the morning?” Lapis asks quietly, unknowingly cowering behind 5XG. She immediately becomes convinced that 5XG will save and protect her, and from this, for some reason, she is embarrassed. 5XG saves people, it's her job, but for some reason, seeing her back suddenly... hurts. Another shot is heard and 5XG takes a step back, hissing through gritted teeth.

“Bastard...” she shakes her hand, and Lapis sees a damaged bullet falling to the ground. Real bullet. Not fake, not rubber, real. Used-for-killing one. “Yes, one of them somehow tracked me down. Need to check the bike and suit for bugs later. Is the gym open? If so, carefully step back and go into the building, I will come after you.”

“O-opened...” Lapis whispers, backing away. “I have a key...”

“Good. Don’t be afraid. I won’t let this freak touch you.”

Another shot is heard and Lapis closes her eyes. 5XG is now a living target, and she can’t move, because then Lapis will be the target. She slowly moves to the gym door and hurriedly searches for the necessary key on a bunch. Fingers don’t listen and tremble, and she manages to open the doors only with the third attempt.

But as soon as the doors are open wide, a fourth shot is heard, different from the previous ones. Less loud, with a whistling sound.

And several things happen at once.

5XG’s knees bend; she manages to take a few steps back, entering the gym, and falls on her back, as if her legs suddenly stopped holding her. The suit sparkles in places, like damaged wiring.

“No, no, no...” Lapis hears, and the voice from the helmet ceases to be mechanical. “Just not that...”

On the street, the sounds of a fight begin and end too quickly. Puma rushes into the room, flinging a man's body in camouflage into the wall, and falls to her knees next to 5XG. 5XG is breathing heavily, but there is no visible damage.

“What happened?!” Puma asks, turning to Lapis.

“I d-don’t know, she... Something hit her and she fell...”

“I'm alive, thank you...” 5XG says quietly. “But I can’t... Ugh... I can’t do anything. This freak shot me with something that busted my prosthesis and the whole system. I can’t move my finger. Nothing that Pearl can’t fix, I hope, but... Damn... I didn’t think I had to go through this again...”

Her voice is trembling. She takes a deep breath and exhale, but it doesn’t help.

“And now I seem to be losing consciousness... Damn, everything hurts. Will you drag me home?..”

5XG turns her head to Puma.

“Of course.”

“Thank. And, Lapis... I'm sorry that it didn’t work out to talk. I'll tell you... Later I’ll tell you everything. Who I am, I mean. When my arms and legs are repaired.”

Lapis is sure that 5XG now wants to either burst into tears or pass out, and most likely the second option will be preferable. But Lapis still has something to say.

“You can assume that we’ve talked,” she says, laying a hand on 5XG’s chest and feeling her heart beating furiously. “Your voice change sensor is also broken.”

“Holy shit...”

“But I will still wait for an explanation. Later.”

5XG is not responding. Her heart still beats, and after waiting a moment, Puma realizes that she just lost consciousness and can be dragged home.

“Puma to G-squad. We need a car, again. We found an escapee. Can I break his legs so he doesn’t run away again? No? Ruby, then promise to break his fingers. He destabilized Per… 5XG’s prosthesis. I will take her home. Over.”

Moving to the shooter, Puma kicks him several times, fastening the handcuffs on his hands and pulling him to the battery.

“Now you won't run away, you bastard.”

After that, she casually puts 5XG on her shoulder, nods to Lapis and prepares to leave, but then she hears:

“I want to go with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to write long chapters, honestly. I'm all about short works usually. People who write long 5k+ chapters, you're fucking GODS.  
> Anyway, one chapter is left! :3   
> See you tomorrow I guess. I'll try to finish asap.


	25. Chapter 25

The device beeps steadily, showing a pulse. Wires are neatly drawn from each prosthesis. There are no droppers, no artificial respiration apparatus, no doctor, no panic. As if this situation is in the order of things. It is as if a person lying on a bed is doing the same procedure every Monday.

“Ma’am… what are you… doing?..”

Lapis’ voice trembles and breaks, and she hugs herself with her hands, watching how a woman in a lab coat sets up a device. She already saw her. Before, many years ago. She remembers her.

“You don't have to be so formal, Lapis. I'm not so much older than you, and we have known each other for a long time. I am setting up a new supply of energy. Her arms and legs don’t work just like that. They get recharged every three months, and usually we follow the calendar, starting this procedure in advance. What happened today emptied the batteries, and her prostheses stopped functioning.”

A woman who looks rather older than her real age sits down in a nearby chair. Lapis bites her lip. Woman was no more than thirty, but in some places white hair is already visible.

“Nothing serious. She will be fine in about three hours. Physically...” the woman sighs, putting her hand on a bionic palm. “Without full recharging, prostheses can’t send sensation signals to her brain. I dreamed that she would never live through such moments in her life again... moments when she couldn’t feel the world around her. Lapis, I... ”

She looks at Lapis. In her light blue eyes, there’s an endless ocean of fatigue.

“I still don't know what to feel about you. But when she wakes up... Be there. I think she wants to see you near more than me.”

Lapis can only nod and look at the girl lying motionless.

Pearl leaves the room, leaving them alone.

Pearl Crane, recalls her full name Lapis. Peridot's half-sister from her mother’s first marriage. The prodigy, who wanted to study far from home. Lapis always considered her cold, not paying any attention to her sister. But as it turned out...

As it turned out, Lapis was wrong all her life.

In front of her, on a bed (far from a medical one, not sterile, ordinary bed in an ordinary room) lies a girl of her age. There are signs of lack of sleep on her face. There are bruises on her shoulders and neck, arms and legs made of bionic plastic.

The girl who disappeared from her life for many years, because she was afraid to appear in her eyes like that. Just like that: connected to devices and without the ability to feel the world. What kind of burden did an ordinary crybaby from a neighboring house take? Girl Lapis had to defend from bullies. Girl who is now, in order to protect someone unfamiliar, is ready to sacrifice another part of her body.

Lapis feels tears welling in her eyes. Not because of the situation itself, not because of this view. Because of her own thoughts. Because of the thoughts " _do I want to continue, knowing that it is her?_ ".

What, in fact, would change?..

***

5XG wakes up in a couple of hours. Her head is buzzing, hands refuse to move. She twitches nervously before she understands where she is and recalls what happened.

Sighing, she throws her head back on the pillow, and looks around the room. After all, Pearl should be here, why she isn’t... When she looks into the blue eyes of definitely-not-her-sister, 5XG twitches again and pulls her hand in an impulse to check if she has a helmet on her, but her hand hangs limply from the edge of the bed.

5XG curls her lips in a sad grin.

“Hey, Lapis...” she wheezes. “What are you doing here?..”

“Puma brought me. I... Told her I know who you are.”

Lapis's voice sounds encouraging. It’s not mad, not disappointed. As if the helmet is still on, as if her voice is still changed. As if they are just drinking coffee in her apartment.

“And why have you... stayed?”

It’s difficult to find words. Painfully. 5XG thinks she can bite her tongue to blood, so as not to blurt out the excess and not burst into tears. She is not wearing a helmet, and she can’t escape, and it sounds terrible in her head. She probably would have tried to run away, hide, avoid conversation. But she can't, she needs to wait before the batteries are ready.

“What do you mean, why?” Lapis frowns, clenching her hands into fists. “You think I could just go home?”

5XG is silent, trying again to find the words.

“And even if Puma didn’t allow it... you would still test me later, right?..”

Lapis nods in response.

“And how would you understand that it was me?..”

A warm smile appears on Lapis' face.

“Very simple. But I can show it to you only when you’ll be okay.”

5XG really wants to say that she will never be okay, “ _can't you see all this, does it look okay to you_ ,” but manages to stifle this desire. Such a phrase will erase this kind and caring smile she wants to see as long as possible. Instead, she closes her eyes and counts to ten.

“What now?.. Do you want to ask something? I can’t run away from the conversation...”

It’s not possible for her to restrain the bitter chuckle, but Lapis pretends not to understand what it was about.

“Why did you write to me in the instagram chat? Not because of the avatar, right?”

5XG grunts without opening her eyes.

“I did say that I really liked your avatar. I didn’t recognize you right away. I didn’t track your social medias, and I didn’t know you really dyed your hair blue. When I realized that it was you, I decided to write and offer to meet because... I just wanted to make sure that you were all right. That your life is really as bright as on the photographs. What you still draw and love to do it. And when I saw you, when I saw how you smile, how you talk about everything, how you like to communicate with... me, it seemed to me that our paths did not diverge. For a couple of hours that evening, I felt like we were sitting together, as before, drinking soda and discussing the past days. Only, huh, it was the other way around. You did your best not to show that you were in love with 5XG, and I looked as cool and impregnable as possible. It used to be the other way around.”

She feels a blush on her cheeks, and once again tries to move her hand to cover it, but her hands still don’t respond, and all that remains for her is to open one eye to look at Lapis’ reaction.

Lapis makes the exact gesture that she wants to make. She covers her face with her hands. Pink tips of her ears still give her out.

“That very night, Steven... My close friend, inspired me to meet you without a mask. But your reaction showed that it was a bad idea. I could stop talking to you as 5XG, but... I wanted to be around a little longer. I wondered why you pushed away “me” without a mask, but it seemed too difficult to investigate without communicating with you. I admit, it was not easy... As you can see, in the end, I fucked up, since you guessed everything.”

“You gave a few hints,” Lapis growls, unable to restrain a smile. “All that remained for me was to put together the facts. Just a few cups of coffee and a brainstorm in the night, and the picture gathered. How much more did you plan to hide the truth?”

“Exactly as much as it would be necessary for you to have guessed everything. How could I know that you immediately decide to sit down to sort it out?.. And then the events coincided... I honestly was going to come to that test. But these bastards decided to ruin everything. Now what I was afraid from the very beginning happened. Maybe it’s true - you can’t run away from fate...”

5XG opens her eyes and looks at the device. Her heart rate is normal, and the progress bar is almost full. Usually, when she went to recharge, Pearl sat next to her so that she would not be bored, and they discussed new projects and ideas, some updates or bug fixes of previous versions.

“Pearl said she is afraid for you and your condition now...” says Lapis carefully, touching the fingers of the bionic palm. 5XG doesn’t react at all. Lapis takes her hand and gives a sad look at the device. Normally, 5XG would have squeezed her palm in her own. “She said that you usually kept to the schedule, and this never happened. How do you... feel?”

“Like a piece of log...” 5XG sighs, looking at the lifeless palm in Lapis' hands. “I was lucky to oversleep most of the time. I don’t know how I would endure three hours. In the past, of course, I had to endure much more, but now even an hour seems unbearable. Now the main thing is try not to escape through the window when I can move. And I really want to just run away.”

Lapis tightly clings to her palm. What she doesn’t want for sure, is an another escape.

“Hey, I promised to show you how would I test you. Don’t run away until I am sure that my theory is correct.”

“Is seeing my face not enough for you?”

“Nope.”

“…”

5XG doesn’t find what to answer, and silence reigns between them, lasting no longer than five minutes. The device emits a long squeak and shows 100%, and 5XG’s palm twitches in Lapis’ hands, and finally, 5XG squeezes Lapis’ palm in hers. 5XG brings the other hand to her face and moves her fingers, checking their state. Feet move normally, knees too. Everything is working fine. She carefully pulls out the wires and sits down in bed, wincing at the aching pain in her neck and back.

“Ugh, everything hurts. Like a truck hit me. Again. A-hem. I'm fine.”

Lapis rolls her eyes, showing with her whole appearance how bad and inappropriate that joke was.

5XG gets up, standing in front of Lapis, who, in turn, also rises from the chair. 5XG is a little shorter than her, she is not wearing a suit or helmet; green eyes have the same ocean of fatigue as her sister’s, dark bruises on her shoulders and neck look painful. 5XG has disheveled blond hair and a scattering of freckles on her face, several scars that are invisible from afar, visible only when you look closely.

“Good. You need to close your eyes and in no case open until I say that you can. Can you do that for me?”

“I already heard it somewhere,” 5XG says embarrassedly, fulfilling the request. “Otherwise, perhaps this is our last meeting?”

“Don’t say such things.”

Closing her eyes too, Lapis puts her palms on 5XG’s cheeks. Rises higher to the temples, tangles fingers in soft hair and scratches behind the ear.

“Heh. Well. You are not purring. The first test failed.”

“Wha-“

“Don't open your eyes, remember?”

5XG nods obediently, squinting.

Lapis lowers her palms below, touches the nose with her thumbs, then the lips, then the neck. Everything converges; everything would come together in the morning, if the plans had not collapsed. All the sensations are exactly as she remembers. Recognizing the truth would have been so easy. Unable to see, Lapis remembered all the sensations, and would recognize 5XG among thousands of other people.

She moves forward, pressing their foreheads together, and gives a happy laugh.

“Hey, Peridot. You were late for the morning test, but you passed this one.”

“Can I open my eyes?”

“You can.”

Peridot Greenwood opens her eyes, and Lapis is still there, still close to her, her hands on her cheeks, and everything seems unrealistic because Peridot has no helmet and Lapis' eyes are open.

“I... I didn’t even consider such an option...” Peridot says confusedly, laying her hands on Lapis’ shoulders. “I already managed to get used to the thought that, starting tomorrow, we will no longer see each other. Steven is probably already waiting with a bucket of ice cream and a sad movie, as I requested. I'm... Not your type at all.”

“I said I can get used to it.”

“And I’m... Well. I’m Peridot Greenwood.”

Lapis sighs, grabbing her in a full embrace.

Sitting in front of her bed for two hours, listening to the sound of device, Lapis thought over Aquamarine’s words. “You don’t lose anything,” she said. And she was right. What could Lapis lose by accepting the truth as it is? 5XG would continue to save the city. Peridot would continue to be her close friend. In fact, looking at Peridot now, Lapis could not compare her with that Peridot that she knew before. It was like her brand new version. Dismantled into pieces, assembled back and improved in all areas.

But what could Lapis lose without accepting the truth? Refusing to give her a chance? Probably everything. Life would not stop, but it wouldn’t be the same. Waking up, feeling happy, falling asleep in anticipation of tomorrow: that’d be gone.

She is not ready for this.

“Peridot Greenwood. 5XG. After what happened today, for me there is no difference. Just two people dear to me are suddenly one person, and I need to get used to it. I will need some time.”

“Well... you have it. All time in the world.”

Peridot nuzzles her shoulder. After years, she finally can hug Lapis again as Peridot.

***

After listening to Pearl's lecture about “how she was scared, and how to be careful, and how now everything will have to be improved again”, Peridot promises that everything will be fine. That they will deal with Homeworld. That the interrogated people have most likely given out all the information. Pearl ruffles Peridot’s hair, impulsively hugs her, and, still swearing under her nose, hides in the laboratory. Only they and Steven remain in the living room. Steven, still in bandages and plasters, says that he brought ice cream.

“Thank you, buddy,” Peridot smiles, beating his fist. “But my heart is fine. It wasn’t broken.”

“Without an ice cream, watching a CPH-restart won’t work. Without freezing the brain, one cannot handle it,” Steven shrugs, looking at Peridot with visible pride.

“CPH got a restart?..”

Lapis looks more surprised than when she and Peridot first saw each other.

“Oh, _stars_.”

***

Lapis returns home after midnight. 5XG drives her home, rises to her floor and makes sure that she safely enters her apartment.

“Will you come in?..” Lapis asks, and 5XG thinks _why not_. “You don’t have to wear it here anymore, remember?”

Lapis taps helmet with her finger, and 5XG smiles. Right. The helmet can be removed. The suit can be removed, she can stay in comfortable home clothes. Nothing will change. Lapis already knows that outside this apartment on the tenth floor of the elite skyscraper, Peridot Greenwood turns into a threat to every criminal.

But tonight she has a day off. Puma can handle everything.

She may not be afraid that Lapis will turn to face her when they go to bed. She may not worry that Lapis will open her eyes during sleepy kisses under the blanket.

She has to leave in the morning without saying goodbye. Lapis sees a cup of still warm coffee and the note " _I am in touch, cleaning the mess after Puma_ " in the kitchen.

_"Will you come to classes?"_

_“I will try. Save me a seat? ~"_

_"Of course. Be careful"._

_"Got it."_

_"I will wait."_

After thinking for a couple of seconds, Lapis writes another message in pursuit of the previous one, and brings a mug of coffee to her lips.

_"Love you."_

After some time, people will write in social networks that 5XG almost drove into the building, strangely losing control in the middle of the road. An hour later, Aquamarine with a sigh will understand that Lapis’ crazy theory turned out to be true, and ask if Peridot still will give her conspectus.

One minute after the start of the class, Peridot will type the answer.

_"“Love you too.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, it's been a wild ride!   
> *dies*   
> Huge thanks to everyone who was interested in this story. It has it's flaws, but that's my first non-original long work, and I tried my best. Translating it was as fun as writing it on my native.   
> See you in my next work! (it'll be WhiteRose in the RWBY fandom heh)


End file.
